An Untitled Tale
by Princess Joy
Summary: A Princess and a Legolas share some startling revelations...Last Chapter up!
1. Chance Meeting in the Forest

Okay, this is my first LOTR fic, so be nice please. I really don't know how mushy it's going to be, or if it even is, but please bear with me and review (please! Not sounding too desperate am I?).  
Oh yeah, and none of the LOTR characters belong to me, if they did I'd be a man, and I'd be, well, dead, and my name would be J.R.R. Tolkien.  
  
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The light splintered through the green leafy boughs of the trees and spilled upon the small girl that was ambling steadily through the forest.  
She had escaped from the bustling castle and courts, and most importantly from the ever watchful eyes of her Nurse who was now searching frantically for her.  
She giggled to herself as she picked up her skirts and stepped over a small trickle of a stream, managing to get her slippers wet as she almost slipped and fell on a slimy green rock that was home to some kind of fungus. She glanced behind herself just to make sure that the Nurse was not there and wiped her dirty hands on her clean silky pink dress that had been made especially for that day. She hated it, she didn't like the colour pink, and particularly not the light shade of flowery pink she was wearing, nor the flowers that were bound into her long brown hair.  
When the Nurse's voice came crashing through the calm of the trees, echoing desperately the girl began to run in the opposite direction. So determined to get away from the beast of a woman she was that she tripped over a protruding tree root and went flying to land in an ungraceful heap on the forest floor, hair in her face and her dress ripped in many places.  
"Ow!" she rubbed her ankle and pouted as if she were about to cry. Her bottom lip trembled slightly, threatening to whimper or wail. But then she noticed someone watching her curiously and caught herself. It was a man, or perhaps not.  
"Who are you?" she asked in a haughty, slightly suspicious tone.  
He looked at her but didn't reply.  
"Well are you going to answer me or not?" she said still rubbing at her ankle, and getting dirt all over her previously white stockings.  
He offered her a hand up and she took it, struggling to her feet and once on them trying to look down on him, which was damn near impossible seeing as he was a great many feet taller than her.  
He didn't look human, the girl thought he looked rather beautiful and like something she had seen in the books her Nurse would often read to her. An Elf, or a Faerie.   
He had long blond hair that was braided away from his face and wore natural colours, shades of browns and greens, and carried with him a bow and a quiver of arrows.  
"I am Legolas, Princess." He said, smiling again.  
"How do you know who I am?" she asked, vainly trying to brush some of the forest floor off her dress.  
"You should be getting back to your Nurse. She's looking for you, I can hear her."  
"But..." the girl began, but Legolas interrupted her.  
"Go. She's getting closer." He said.  
How did he know that the girl wondered. She turned to see if her Nurse was anywhere in sight, she wasn't, but when she turned back to Legolas he was gone.  
"There you are!" Came and angry voice from behind her. The girl flinched and turned round. Legolas had been right, her Nurse was closer, she was right there.  
"I've been looking all over for you, Princess Edith!"  
Again, the girl flinched, she hated her name and hated even more that no matter how much she groused, whined and insisted, no-one would call her Edie, or anything else.  
"Well, perhaps I didn't want to be found." Edie said scowling.  
"Seven summer old Princesses should not be wandering about the forest at any time. No-one knows what beasts could be lurking behind trees, waiting to kidnap you or hurt you." The Nurse scolded.  
Again Edith scowled at her, it seemed to be the only expression she could manage with that woman around.  
"And look what you've done to your beautiful dress..." The Nurse said taking Edie's hand and pulling her back in the direction of the castle.  
Edie sighed, she knew this was what she would have to put up with all the way back.  
  
  
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Sorry this is only a short chapter, but I've only just decided to write this - a spur of the moment get it all down quick kind of thing - more will come, I promise.  
*Gawd, I keep wanting to call him Legoland...grrr!* 


	2. Lord Antinous

Well, Thankyou to the one person that reviewed - I love you!  
  
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It was nearly a two summers later and Edie was almost nine.  
Outside the sun was shining and the birds in the trees were singing, Edie wanted to be out there, but instead she was inside by her Father's side in the great hall waiting to greet some important guests that were expected to arrive soon.  
She fiddled with the sleeve of her dress, yet another beastly garment that she would try her best to ruin before the day was out so that she would not be forced to wear it again.  
It was pink, again, that ghastly shade of light flowery pink that came back to haunt her again and again. It was as if there was some kind of conspiracy against her between the dressmakers and her Nurse to make her life as much as a misery as possible.  
She slipped her hand into her father's, knowing it not be the proper etiquette, although it was a good way to get his attention.  
"Father? When are they going to arrive?" she whispered to him.  
"Soon." He said, growling slightly in annoyance. It was about the tenth time she'd asked in about five minutes.  
"Why must I wait here, Father? Can't I go outside and play?" she looked at him hopefully.  
"There's someone important I'd like you to meet." He turning his attention back to the doors and not answering her second question.  
Edie huffed slightly and folded her arms across her chest, she was not going to stay in that room much longer.  
It seemed that tedious hours had passed but then, the doors opened and herald trumpeted. "Lord Antinous."  
A handsome young man stepped boldly through the doors and swiftly approached Edie's Father.  
"Your Majesty." He said, and bowed low.  
Edie looked at him with an air of disgust, Lord Antinous, another suck up to her Father.  
He looked down at her and smiled, Edie replied with a scowl. She didn't like this man.  
"Edith." Her Father said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "This is Lord Antinous, the man you're going to marry."  
"Princess." Lord Antinous greeted her, and bowed almost as low as he had for her Father.  
Edie's scowl turned into an expression of shock. "Father! I can't marry him! I'm only nine, and I've only just met him!" She protested.  
Both her Father and Lord Antinous laughed.  
"Edith, you won't marry him until you come of age and you'll have come to know him quite well by them. Lord Antinous is a well respected man, I don't expect you to talk that way of him again." Her Father said firmly.  
Edie couldn't think of anything to say, she was trembling with both shock and anger. If her father thought that she was going to marry that man then he had another thing coming.  
"Where is the rest of your party Lord Antinous?" her Father asked. "I was expecting more than just you."  
Lord Antinous smiled, "I rode ahead, they should arrive here shortly."  
Edie certainly didn't want to meet any other people, she turned and walked out of the great hall, before her Father could notice.  
She almost ran to her rooms, she was so angry. How dare her Father and that man arrange her marriage behind her back. She had been expecting to be courted by great numbers of men in her teenage years, pick one, and marry the person she chose. That would be for love.  
Perhaps that was just some romantic fairytale. She sighed and walked over to her window, looking out she remembered back to when she had met the man that she now assumed had been an elf.  
If elves and other such creatures existed then there had to be some hope for her fairytale ideals. She heard someone enter the room behind her and turned expecting it to be a servant sent to bring her back to the great hall.  
It was her Nurse, "Oh!" the now old woman cried, "You gave me such a shock, Princess Edith. I thought you were down in the great hall greeting guests."  
Edie scowled again at the word 'guest'. She turned back to the window and didn't reply. There had to be some way to get out of the wedding to Lord Antinous.  
  
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Okay, here's another short one. Sorry this chapter has been a bit boring. It will get more interesting, I promise! Just getting into it and all that - need to set everything up before we really delve deep. Laters ;0), luv Joy 


	3. An Unwanted Surprise

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Eight summers later Edie was seventeen, in fact she had just turned seventeen and it was only another year until she would be of age to marry Lord Antinous, a man that she had gradually learned to hate more and more over the years she had known him.  
He was a snob, he was rude, he only pretended to respect her when her Father was around and Edie could see now that he was marrying her purely so he could be king.  
Edie was sitting at supper, long tables were set out laden with food on white tablecloths. Lord Antinous had taken a seat beside her.   
As Edie brought a cup of wine to her lips Lord Antinous leaned close to her, "Only one more year, my love." He said, chuckling as she grimaced and nearly spilled wine down her front.  
She turned coldly to face him, "A year I shall cherish, Lord Antinous." She said smiling tiredly at him.  
Lord Antinous snorted, he knew perfectly well she hated him.  
He was handsome, yes. He had dark brown hair, so dark it was almost black, worn shorter than was the fashion, and dark green eyes. His face was angular, yet chiselled and he stood a good foot taller than Edie. His smile could mean so many things, and her Father had grown fond of him. Edie hated the man, she hated him with a fiery passion that burned so hot that sometimes she just wanted to scream or hurt someone.  
Edie's Father was sitting on her other side, he hadn't heard the exchange between Edie and Lord Antinous. "Well Edith, it's only a year until you wed." he said, putting a hand on hers and looking down at her warmly.  
Edie forced a smile. "Time has gone by so quickly, Father." She said and turned back to her food, just looking at it, she wasn't hungry anymore, just being near Lord Antinous made her feel ill. She turned back to her Father, "Father, may I be excused?" There was no point in her staying there and enduring the company of the one man she hated most in Middle-Earth.  
"Why? What's wrong?" the old king asked her.  
"A headache." She said putting a hand to her head for extra effect.  
Her Father nodded and Edie pushed away from the table and walked quickly up to her rooms.  
She sat by the window for a while, looking out and thinking, then there came a knock at her door.  
"Come in." she called out, hoping that it was not Lord Antinous.  
Her maidservant, Ranker, entered and nodded respectfully. "His Majesty and Lord Antinous request your presence in the Great Hall, Ma'am." She said and dipped her head again.  
"Oh. Thankyou Ranker, do you know what it's about?" Edie asked her, standing up and smoothing out her dress.  
"No, Ma'am. Sorry." Ranker said and stood by the door waiting to be dismissed.  
"That's alright, Ranker, you may go now." Edie said and watched the maidservant dip her head once more and exit.  
Edie sighed and made her way down to the Great Hall, and as she entered she noticed her Father and Lord Antinous standing in the corner talking quietly, no doubt about her.  
She made her step heavier and her Father turned and saw her, "Ah, Edith, there you are. Are you feeling better?"  
"Yes, a little, thankyou, Father." Edie said and came to a halt before the two men.  
"Edith, Lord Antinous and I have been talking." He said, pausing for a moment. To Edie this sounded dubious and a little suspicious. In Edie's experience a statement starting with 'we've been talking' never ended well. Her Father continued on, "We think that there's no point in waiting another year until you get married, you should know each other by now, and it's only a year early. It will happen within the month."  
Edie nearly choked with anger, she was sure that the decision had been Lord Antinous's doing. "What?"  
Lord Antinous moved so he was beside and took Edie's hand. "Isn't that wonderful news, my love?"  
Edie squeezed his hand hard, hoping that it hurt him and knowing that it didn't, and then took her hand back, "Do excuse me, I think I need to have a lie down."  
Edie started for the door, but Lord Antinous caught up with her, "Allow me to escort you, my Lady." He said, putting a hand around her waist.  
Edie waited until they were halfway to her rooms before coming to a halt and turning to face Lord Antinous. "You absolute beast of a man!" she said restraining herself from hitting him.  
"Pardon, my Lady?"  
"How could you? How could you? Why? Why did you bring the ceremony forward?" Edie almost shouted at him.  
"I don't know what you're talking about...love." Lord Antinous said smiling in a way that angered Edie even more.  
The 'love' bit was the last straw, Edie slapped him faster than he was expecting and stormed off down the corridor, leaving him stunned with a hand pressed to his cheek where she'd hit him.  
As soon as Edie reached her rooms she realised that she couldn't stay in there one moment longer, she couldn't marry Lord Antinous, and she wouldn't.  
  
  
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Okay, I know that chapter didn't have any LOTR characters in, but the next one will. Promise!  
Please review now (please), luv Joy ;0) 


	4. A Second Meeting

In this chapter you'll learn that Edie has been very (and I mean very) sheltered.  
  
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She had gotten out during the night, she couldn't believe that she'd actually done it.   
She'd taken her horse from the stables and rode it through the gates and into the forest.   
She had been riding all night and now Edie was sitting propped up against a tree half-asleep, but alert in case someone should find her.  
The previous night she had snuck down into the stables and bribed a stable boy for his common clothes and silence. Her hair, she didn't have the heart to cut, so now it was in a braid down her back. She'd taken some food from the kitchens and some coins and a small knife that she had kept in a box in her rooms. Now she was tired, she was so tired, but she knew sleep was out of the question, only a quick rest now and then she would be off again.  
So Edie got up after a few precious minutes of rest and was back on her horse again and riding once more.  
As evening began to approach Edie stopped again in a small clearing and tied her horse to the nearest tree. She looked around for some wood and put it in a pile before realising that she didn't know how to light it, the servants always did that. So instead she sighed and sat looking at it, feeling lonely and sorry for herself.  
As the sky began to grow darker Edie noticed a shadow lurking in the trees. She stood up quickly stepped backwards stumbling over the log that she had been sitting on, and fumbled in her boot for the knife. After some time she produced it with a "Ha!" and held it in front of her in a way that she thought was somewhat threatening, it wasn't. "Come out and face me, you coward!" she shouted to the shadowy figure, only to regret saying it as the figure moved towards her.  
Edie moved back a step as the figure emerged from the shadows. It was a man, his face looked familiar, but somewhere in the past ten years Edie had forgotten her encounter with the elf, Legolas.  
Unconsciously Edie moved forward again. "Who are you...have we met before?" she asked, looking at him in awe.  
Legolas offered a small smile, "Yes, Princess. I know you. We met when you were much younger."  
Then it came back to Edie, she gasped, "It's you! L..." she trailed off, she had forgotten his name, but she knew who he was now.  
"Legolas." He said. "You can put that fruit knife down now, I will do you no harm."  
Edie hadn't realised she was still pointing the knife at him, she lowered it and bent down, replacing it in her boot with some difficulty. "Sorry," she said shrugging, "I suppose I had forgotten that we had ever met, I came to the conclusion many years ago that you were a figment of my imagination."  
"That I was not." Legolas said and perched upon the log Edie had previously been sitting. They looked at each other for a few moments, Edie was still surprised that he actually existed, the Legolas spoke, "They're looking for you."  
Edie sighed, "I know...How do you know?" she asked him suspiciously. "How did you know who I was all those years ago?"  
Legolas did not reply, he had put his bow and quiver on the ground beside him and was bent over the fire. Edie watched him, she couldn't see what he was doing, but pretty soon there was a fire where there previously had been none.  
"How did you do that?" Edie asked him.  
"You ask too many questions." Legolas said. "Sleep now, we shall be leaving this place early tomorrow morning."  
Edie frowned at him, "We? What gives you the right to presume that I am going anywhere with you?"  
"You know nothing of this land and need a travelling companion if you're going to get anywhere without being caught by those who seek you."  
Edie raised a stubborn eyebrow at him but nonetheless lay down upon the ground and went to sleep by the fire, watching the flickering flames before she drifted off.  
  
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More to come! Luv Joy ;0) 


	5. The Journey Has Started

Gawd, I've just been re-reading a bit of TTT and Legoland talks in such a poncy way. Geez!  
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. ;0)  
  
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Lord Antinous looked out over the land that lay stretched out before him. Behind him there were fifty men on horseback, only fifty could be spared to look for the 'lost' Princess.  
At first it had been thought that she had been kidnapped, that was until one of the stable-boys had come forward with information hoping for some kind of paltry reward, he only got a beating for his troubles.   
Her presence had not been missed until halfway through the morning, and Antinous knew that she had left because their wedding had been moved forward. Impertinent little wench! She was doing all this to spite him, he knew that.  
He knew she hated him, after all he'd done to try and get her to like him in the beginning, saucy little bitch, all the presents and kind words had been wasted upon her.  
She had run away, but she wouldn't have got far. Not with her knowledge of the land. When he found her - and he would - she would be glad to marry him, and would be a proper wife.  
He scowled as he thought of her, and ordered the company to move forward. She would have gone through the deep forest on horseback, se knew nothing of combat or survival skills. They would probably find her leaning against a tree, weeping, her horse run away and a twisted ankle.  
At this though Antinous chuckled and wondered if he should order the men to move faster so the scene would be played out sooner, or to keep going at a steady pace so that when the girl was found her heightened wretchedness would only make his victory taste all the sweeter.  
  
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At dawn Legolas roused Edie, "We need to go from this place now." He said as she opened her eyes and looked at him as if to say 'who the hell are you?'.  
After realising where she was and who she was looking at Edie struggled to her feet, refusing Legolas's proffered hand.  
Edie stumbled over to her horse, once again almost tripping over the same log. She shot the offending log a look of contempt and started untying the horse from the tree.  
"Nay, we take that beast no further. Set it free." Legolas said from behind her.  
She turned to face him. "Are you mad? Surely I will be caught if we travel on foot."  
"Yes, Princess, but if we set the horse free it will go back and be found by those who seek you."  
Edie made a face and held tight to the horse's reigns. "This is my best horse, I'm not going to let her roam the land to be eaten by Orcs or other such beasts."  
Legolas sighed inwardly before replying, "Let her go, Princess."  
Edie sighed loudly at him, "Alright," she said, showing her age, "But be it upon your head if I discover she has come to any harm!"  
"Wait!" Legolas said, holding up a hand. "If we leave her tied to this tree and she is found it will be assumed that you are dead and the company will give up hope on your safe return."  
Edie opened her mouth to say something but shut it again, anger filled her. She had only known this Elf a few hours and already she was tiring of his company. "That is inhumane! She will die if left here, either of hunger and if not that then some foul creature will consume her heartlessly. I will not condone it."  
"Then do not. She will stay here, Princess and we will continue on foot."  
  
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	6. Eurymachus and Melanthius

Hey, thanks to the people that reviewed! (Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou!)  
  
Fyre - Yeah I have read Elfie's fic. But, I've been calling Legolas 'Legoland' ever since I first read the books because I couldn't remember his name - and then it stuck because I kept calling him that after to piss my friend off. I call him that now 99.9% of the time.  
  
Gollumsess - Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou for your encouragement!  
  
And on with the story...  
  
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So they travelled now on foot, Legolas striding onward and Edie lagging behind as she was not used to walking great distances.  
"Legolas, may we stop and rest a while?" Edie asked, not waiting for a reply before sitting down on a nearby boulder.  
Legolas halted and turned to face her, "Princess, it would not be wise to stop now, the company advance on horseback and we are on foot."  
Edie shot him a look, "I believe it was your idea to leave my horse behind. Besides, if I am fatigued then we shall not travel a great distance anyway, it is better we rest now."  
For the umpteenth time since they had begun walking Legolas sighed, and walked back to where Edie was sitting. "Do you wish to be sent back to that castle?"  
"No." Edie said and grudgingly got up and this time started ahead of Legolas, until she realised that she didn't know where they were heading. "Legolas, where are we going?" she asked, looking back at him.  
"Do not worry yourself with that, just follow me and stop asking questions."  
  
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Lord Antinous sneered at his men, as far as he was concerned they were going about this far too slowly. "Hurry up you fools!" he shouted with exasperation.  
His second in command, Eurymachus, turned to Lord Antinous and spoke, "Please, Sir, the men are moving as swiftly as they can. They have not rested for almost a full day. I know that you worry for the safety of the Princess, but Sir, I beg of you, please let the men rest a while. For surely they would be more thorough in the search if they were well rested..."  
Antinous waved a dismissive hand at Eurymachus, he had heard enough of this man's pleading. "Yes. Rest, rest, go on. Give the order to dismount, we make our camp here tonight."  
Eurymachus called to his men and the company halted. The men were eager to get a good rest, Antinous had been working them all too hard with not nearly enough thought to anyone but himself and his own selfish desires to become king.  
  
Eurymachus sent a party into the surrounding wooded area to collect firewood and was surprised when one of the party, a young soldier called Melanthius, came back leading a familiar looking horse.  
Eurymachus did not wait for the lad to reach him, he joined him halfway and asked, "Where do you find that horse, Soldier?"  
It seemed that Lord Antinous was rather interested in his explanation too, as he strode over to the two men and looked down his nose at young Melanthius. "Here, Boy, where did you procure that horse from? If I'm not mistaken that is the horse that went missing at the same time as the Princess disappeared."  
Melanthius licked his dry lips, he was not the only soldier that looked warily upon Lord Antinous. He was known for his short temper and eagerness to give out punishments.  
"Erm...the alleged horse was found in a clearing not one mile from here, Sir." Melanthius said dipping his head hastily and what he hoped was respectfully.  
Lord Antinous stroked his chin thoughtfully and looked at Melanthius, his nostrils flaring slightly. "What's your name, Boy?" he asked, or more like demanded. Lord Antinous never asked for anything, and he always got what he wanted.  
Melanthius glanced uneasily at Eurymachus who gave him a reassuring look, "M...Melanthius, Sir."  
"Well, Melanthius, you and I are going to take a trip to this clearing that you speak of. Give that horse to him." He pointed at another soldier who came over immediately and took the horse off Melanthius.  
Lord Antinous started to walk off towards his horse, Melanthius lingered behind for only a second, looking at Eurymachus for some kind of reassurance, "You'll be fine, Melanthius." Eurymachus said, patting Melanthius on the shoulder and giving him a small smile, "Now quick, follow Lord Antinous before he is angered."  
Melanthius took one final look at Eurymachus before running after Lord Antinous like an eager, but scared puppy.  
  
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Yeah, sorry, I know that's a really strange place to leave it, but please review anyway. (Please?...Please, please?) luv Joy ;0) 


	7. To the Village

Sorry if you think Legolas is a bit OOC in this chapter, but plz let me explain – what I've tried to do is make a mixture between film Leggylooloo and book Legoland so he's a bit talkative, but not too much and doesn't ramble on like the book Legoland. Also, who's Edie gonna talk to if Leggy won't talk? Herself? Well, actually, knowing her…probably.  
Anyways, soz this chapter took soooo long to put up but there were internet problems and then major workload for A2 and settling into Yr13 and all of that.  
Enjoy ;0)  
  
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Evening was drawing near and Edie was weary from walking almost all day with only one short rest.  
Legolas declared they should stop, and even though she was sleeping on the ground without even a pillow for her head or a blanket to ward off the cold she fell asleep almost immediately when she lay upon the cold, hard earth.  
Legolas looked at her peacefully sleeping for a while. She seemed so different from when she was awake, so...silent.  
Legolas sighed to himself, relishing in the serenity of the situation.   
Edie was snoring quietly, and smiled as she slept. Legolas wondered what she was thinking or even dreaming. She lay still, her chest moving ever so slightly with the rhythm of her breathing.  
He listened to the night-time sounds of nature, immersing himself in his surroundings as he leant upon an old tree, one of his legs bent, the other straight on the ground.  
His quiver and bow lay on the floor beside him, his immortal life.  
As he slipped into his waking dreams Legolas lay a hand upon his bow, memories coming back at its familiar surface, and he smiled.  
  
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Lord Antinous dismounted and handed his horses reins to Melanthius. The boy took them nervously, and stood by the two horses, waiting to be called over.  
They were in the clearing where Edie had set up camp. The trees that surrounded them formed a tight little ring that some may have found cozy, but Antinous found suffocating.  
He didn't like nature, he didn't like begin led on this wild goose chase and he didn't like Princess Edith's defiance. That would be quickly beaten out of her once she was his wife.  
Antinous walked over to the place where the fire had been, he poked at the ashes with the toe of his boot and sniffed with distain.   
So, she had been there. Someone else had been here too. The Princess didn't know how to do anything for herself, she could not have lit the fire herself, the horse was hers, she had been there.  
Lord Antinous did have to admit that the other person had been incredibly discreet, no footprints were on the ground except for those of the Princess.  
He stooped down and poked at the ashes again, this time with a stick, hoping futilely to find some kind of evidence that would tell him where the Princess had gone. There was none.  
He growled angrily and stalked back to Melanthius, who flinched as he came towards him.  
"Stop flinching boy and give me back my horse!" Antinous said as he snatched the reins back off Melanthius and practically snarled at the frightened boy.  
  
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Legolas gently shook Edie awake. She recognised him immediately this time and by the look on her face she didn't want to face another days walking.   
She sighed and this time took his proffered hand. She tried to speak but a low croaking noise came out of her throat instead. She looked a little bemused and cleared her throat.  
"Shall we go through a village today?" she asked, futilely brushing the dirt off her clothes.  
Legolas raised an eyebrow. "Why should we do that?" he asked, picking up his quiver and bow off the floor beside him and swinging the quiver over his shoulder.  
"We…I…there's hardly any food left." Edie said, gesturing to the meagre lump of bread – if it could even be called a lump – which was to make up her breakfast.  
Legolas shook his head, "You have much to learn. We can take meals, when needed, from what surrounds us." He gestured to the bushes and trees.  
Edie screwed up her face, "Are you suggesting that I eat unknown fruits and berries off wild trees?" In the Castle all her food had been prepared for her, eating just the bread and other foods she had taken from the kitchens had been a slightly unnerving experience in its own, not being served and waited on.  
"Aye." The Elf said, striding confidently towards a nearby bush and picking off a berry, showing it to her, and then popping it in his mouth, chewing and letting a slight smile cross his face.  
Edie didn't know whether to smile or despair. She opted for a despairing smile. "It may be alright with you. You are an Elf and from what my Nurse read me from books I know that you are immortal. One of those berries that you so happily chew on could be a poison to me." She said, brushing a stray wisp of hair off her face, and putting her nose haughtily in the air.  
Then it was Legolas's turn to smile despairingly, "Must you always question everything? Can you not trust me just for once?"  
Edie looked angrily at the ground, wrinkling her nose and curling her lip. She felt as if she had never been so angry with another person, save Lord Antinous, in her life. "Can you let me do what I think best, just for once?" she replied. "I wish to go into a village and procure some food."  
She resisted the urge to stamp her foot down, just to make the point all the more clear. Besides, it was a seemingly childish thing to do.  
Legolas sighed and looked at her for a moment. "As you wish." He said, and turned, walking once more into the trees.  
  
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Okay, that's it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!  
Please review – please, please, please…do I sound desperate enough for you? 


	8. Mistress Antigone

Well, here's the new chapter.  
  
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Edie peered out of the foliage and looked down upon the village below. Legolas stood behind her, alert and aware of every life form that surrounded them.  
"Legolas?" Edie whispered. He looked at her silently. She couldn't even hear him breathing. "Can we go into the village now?" she asked. They had been standing in the same spot now for well over an hour and Eddy's patience wore thin easily.  
He glared at her like a hawk, as he had done the other seven times she had asked him the same question. She smiled nervously and went back to watching the village again.  
There was an old woman that had been sitting on the steps outside a cottage close to the edge of the village, she had been sitting there since Edie and Legolas had arrived at the spot they were now. The old woman had a tattered shawl wrapped tightly around her small form, she sat huddled and holding just as tight onto a gnarled stick that she held in her left hand.  
A few children had run past a few minutes ago and shouted something at her to which she had taken offence, and had only then stood up shaking the stick in their direction and they had run off laughing and pushing each other.  
Edie sighed and looked back at Legolas again, she took a deep breath and opened her mouth as if to speak. But the Elf silenced her with another hawk-like look and took her arm, pulling her with him, through the bushes and down the hill on which they had stood to the village below.  
The village streets were practically empty, Edie was now wondering if it had been such a good idea insisting that they come to a village. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk to the old woman, she was the only person that hadn't gone indoors as she and Legolas had approached from the hill.  
But Legolas walked swiftly towards the crone and greeted her, "Greetings, Old Woman." He said, and Edie noticed that she was blind and took a step back.  
"You need not be afraid, child." The old woman said, her voice cracked with age, "I will bring you no harm. They call me Mistress Antigone, I am a seer."  
Edie had heard of these 'Seers'. Her own Father had not permitted them to be present in court, they were said to be carriers of the darkness. They looked into the future and saw inside you, who you were. They made Edie wary because mostly she trusted her Father's judgement.  
"Come, child." Mistress Antigone said, stretching out her free hand in Edie's direction. Edie flinched as if she had been hit.  
Legolas gave her a look, which Edie couldn't quite interpret.  
She stepped forward and Mistress Antigone snatched her hand. Edie was stunned, she stood shaking and the old crone placed the stick by her side and stroked Edie's trapped hand with her newly freed one. "Don't be afraid."  
Edie cast a despairing look to Legolas. What did this old woman plan to do with her?  
"No." Mistress Antigone croaked, "Don't look at your companion, look at me, child. Look into my eyes."   
Edie turned reluctantly back to her and looked into the milky white orbs that had perhaps not seen a thing in all of Mistress Antigone's life.  
Suddenly the world started swirling around her and she felt as if she were about to fall, but the old woman's surprisingly strong hands held her upright. Her head was spinning and she just wanted to drop to the floor and lie there until the strange feeling passed. She could hear Mistress Antigone speaking to her, but she couldn't quite make out the words, it sounded like she should know what was being said, but then at the same time it sounded like another language. A beautiful language, and she felt herself replying in the same language, she had no idea what she was saying.  
Then she felt a warmness in her stomach, it started like a small ball of liquid fire and then it began expanding and she could feel all of her body grow quite warm, but not hot.  
But all too soon it was gone, quite suddenly, leaving her feeling cold, and she dropped to the ground, the old woman's hands no longer supporting her. She vomited, bringing up the bread and water she had consumed a few hours before and then started shivering and shaking there on the floor.  
Mistress Antigone picked up the gnarled stick off the floor beside her and poked it at Edie. "Your blood is tainted, sweet child." She said, coughing and spluttering and catching herself.  
Legolas had not moved from where he had been standing before, "Leave her alone, Old Woman." He said, his voice a warning.  
Edie coughed, "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice shaking as much as her body.  
Mistress Antigone pushed herself up and hobbled into her cottage and emerged carrying a warm blanket, which she wrapped around Edie's shoulders with the help of Legolas.  
"Nothing, child." Mistress Antigone said as she lead Edie indoors and sat her down in an old wooden chair. "Nothing at all…"  
  
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Once again, plz plz plz review - I will have more w. Lord Antinous in nxt time - thankyou, I love you all! 


	9. Mistress Antigone's Cottage

Thankyou to the three people that reviewed the last chapter!  
  
Okay, firstly, to the anonymus reviewer that left no name - the story takes place in Rome - kidding! It takes place somewhere in Middle Earth (I have to tell you that my geography is not that good), and the era, well, it all depends upon whether I decide to put another character from LOTR in. So, be patient and only time will tell what time this story is set in - so, put in simpler terms (as I do tend to ramble once I get going) 'I don't know, perhaps I will soon. It's a question that has been plaguing me since I started writing it.'  
  
Secondly, FantasyGirl, I'm going to answer your questions in the order that they were asked and try not to act like a complete spoil-sport to one of my few reviewers - 'kay...What Mistress Antigone meant...if I told you it might (will) ruin the story and then even less people will bother reading it. The warmth and strange language, you will find out later. And my blatant lack of reviewers poses only a little problem for me - I write the story because I feel inspired, and can only hope that more people will read it in the future.  
  
Thirdly, I've said it once, I'll say it again - thankyou to the people that have reviewed, and if you haven't, it doesn't take that long - please do!  
  
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Lord Antinous and the men had been camped in the same place for three days and two nights now. Despite their earlier eagerness to rest the men were now growing restless and were now urging Eurymachus to suggest they move onward in the search for the Princess. This was not a task Eurymachus was looking forward to completing.  
Ever since finding the Princesses deserted camp Lord Antinous had been in a foul mood.  
At that moment he was at the edge of their camp pacing back and forth angrily with his hands clasped behind his back and a dark expression on his face.  
Eurymachus warily approached him trying not to seem as if he were pussyfooting around.  
"My Lord…" he began, but Antinous held up a dismissive hand.  
"Say nothing. We shall move onward shortly."  
Eurymachus inclined his head respectfully, offered a small smile and walked back to his men who looked at him questioningly but he sighed and waved a hand at them, much in the manner of Lord Antinous, but not nearly as rude.  
He hoped, but did not expect Lord Antinous's mood to be better when they set off again.  
  
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Edie had fallen asleep in the chair and now woke to a roaring fire in the grate opposite her. She was feeling better, a bit better. Her head hurt and the bright orange flames of the fire were painful to look at.  
She sat, not wanting to get up and see where Legolas and Mistress Antigone were, a few moments soltude was what she felt she needed.  
Then behind her she heard shuffling, stilted footsteps, and then a hacking cough, and she knew that Mistress Antigone was approaching - Edie didn't know if Legolas even had the ability to make that much noise.  
"Well, dear, you're awake." the Old Woman said in her low rasping voice as she shuffled into Edie's view holding a bowl of something that looked like a meat stew.  
Edie smiled weakly at her, and then frowned remembering that Mistress Antigone was blind and wouldn't be able to see her smile.  
"How are you feeling?"  
Edie opened her mouth, and drew in a ragged breath. "I am..." she paused, not knowing how to explain the way she felt, it was somewhere in between fine and ill.  
"Don't worry, child. Eat this." Mistress Antigone reached out for Edie's pale hands and firmly placed the warm bowl in them. "It will make you feel better."  
Edie sat looking at the food, it made her feel sick. "What did you do to me?" she asked softly only half of her wanting to know.  
"I looked inside of you. I've seen..." At this she trailed off and turned to her left. Edie looked where Mistress Antigone's empty eyes lingered. Legolas had entered the room.  
  
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Sorry it's only short. More will come soon ;0) 


	10. The Dark, Dark Woods

Okay, in this chapter there are, like, 2 words of elvish (can you guess which ones they are?) and I stole them from the movie, so you should know what they mean - if you don't it says at the end ;0)  
Also, this is not a nice chapter if you're a bit squeamish - v. detailed.  
  
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"Ah, you're awake." Legolas said quietly.  
Edie regarded him with the look of someone who had just been deprived of hearing something that they saw as vitally important.  
"Are you well enough to walk." he asked, approaching the chair and casting a look at Mistress Antigone.  
"Havo dad, Legolas." the Old Crone said, her voice merely a croaking whisper. "I was talking to the girl."  
Edie almost corrected her, 'Princess.' she said in her mind, never forgetting what she really was.  
"You have interfered enough." Legolas said regarding her with a thinly veiled scowl. "Are you well enough to walk?" he asked Edie again.  
Edie bent and put the bowl down by the chair, "Yes." she said forcing a smile, a little anxious now the atmosphere in the room had grown almost hostile.  
"Be careful, child." Mistress Antigone croaked as Edie pushed herself up and out of the chair, holding onto one of the chair arms for support as she slowly exited the cottage behind Legolas.  
  
Outside it was dark and chilly. The night air wrapped itself around Edie like a cloak and she wondered whether she was shivering from the cold or whether she was still suffering the after-effects of Mistress Antigone's touch.  
Legolas strode on before her through the trees, even darker now than before in the forest.  
Edie still felt sick, and nearly was four times in various bushes and shrubs along their path, except now she had nothing in her stomach to come out.   
She dropped down onto her hands and knees and coughed, her hair falling into her sweat-covered, pale face. "Legolas..." she said quietly, forcing the word out and hoping he would stop.  
He already had and was by her side, kneeling next to her in the dirt and putting a slender hand upon her arched back as she struggled not to retch, the bile rising up in her throat.  
"Perhaps we should camp here." the Elf said, rubbing Edie's back with one hand and pushing the hair out of her face with the other.  
Edie took a few deep breaths trying to quell the feelings of nausea, "Yes."  
She let herself drop down onto the slightly damp earth and rolled over onto her side, not wanting to tempt fate by lying on her stomach as she normally did.  
  
  
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'Havo dad...' - 'Sit down...'  
Aww, c'mon, Aragorn says it. 


	11. Thomas

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Thomas, the King's servant, waited nervously outside the King's chambers for the Physician to arrive.  
He fiddled with his fingers and twisted them in his tunic.  
The guards who stood outside the door regarded him with curious sideways glances every once in a while, and he eyed them back silently.  
It was only when he heard hurried footsteps approaching that he untwisted his fingers from the folds of his clothes and wiped a stray strand of hair away from his dark brown eyes.  
He bowed curtly as the Physician approached. He was an old man, with long straggly grey hair and a beard to match. His eyes were small and whenever he was unhappy with something he screwed up his face and they became even smaller. He was rather deaf and when you spoke to him, he would often put one hand to his ear and ask you to repeat what you'd just said, or he would take it as something else and get it completely wrong. His brown, tattered robes had picked up a great deal of dust and whenever he brushed past anything a small cloud rushed out. He apprentice trailed behind him, struggling with a large bundle of bandages and other medical equipment.  
Thomas shook his head, this was the man unto which they were entrusting the life of their King.  
"Where is he?" the Old Man asked, in his wheezing and rather slow voice, looking around for the King, Tom presumed.  
He licked his lips, "This way." he said, showing the Physician into the King's chambers.  
He heard the guards stifle their laughing behind him and shook his head once more, grimacing at what the duddering old fool would make of the King's condition.  
  
King Laertes lay pale upon his bed. The sudden departure of his daughter had affected him very badly. After a week, he had realised that hopes of her returning were not looking so positive as they had been just after she left, and he had ceased to eat, drinking only water when it was brought to him.  
His daughter meant more to him than anything else, especially since his beloved wife had died leaving only Edith as part of his immediate family. He had no brothers or sisters, and neither had his wife. His only hope of having an heir was for that nice young Lord Antinous to find Edith and bring her back to him.  
He barely noticed when the old Physician entered with his servant Thomas and started poking and prodding him with various medical instruments.  
  
"I see what's wrong." the Old Man said, coughing dryly.  
Tom looked at him hopefully, wishing that for once he had come up with something that wasn't totally unbelievable even to Tom's lack of medical knowledge.  
"He's very ill." he said with an air of knowledge about him.  
Tom raised an eyebrow and tried not to shout, "That is known, Sir, yes. But what is wrong with him?"  
"Ah, that I cannot tell you. He seems to be suffering from the loss of the Princess."  
Tom sighed, why must he repeat everything that was already known?  
"But what 'exactly' is wrong with him, Sir?"  
"Well, let me see..." the Physician proceeded to poke the still form of the King again. "He's wasting away. You need to feed him."  
"He won't eat anything." Tom said, repeating what he had already told the Physician before he had been summoned.  
"Ah, there's your problem!" the Old Man said and ordered his apprentice to pack away his tools.  
  
Tom watched him leave without protesting, the Physician was useless anyway. He looked down upon the King. His skin was sallow and grey. He wished Lord Antinous would return with the Princess, then perhaps the King's condition would improve.  
  
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Sorry, no official LOTR characters in this chapter - there will be in the next, I promise!  
luvs and hugs to the peeps that reviewed! ;0) Joy 


	12. Another Crazy Old Woman

Hey, I promised a LOTR character, and I have delivered. Enjoy ;0) Joy.  
  
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Edie awoke and opened her eyes, squinting in the sunlight.  
Legolas was sitting nearby on a well-placed boulder looking into the trees. If he noticed that she had woken he made no indication of it, as he sat still as a cat watching its prey.  
It dawned upon Edie as she sat up that she felt a whole lot better than she had before, perhaps a good night's sleep had been what she needed. Her stomach started grumbling and she uttered a low moan of annoyance, as if telling it off for functioning properly now.  
Legolas whipped his head round and Edie nearly jumped out of her skin.  
"How are you feeling?" The Elf asked, eyeing her like a hawk lest she lie.  
"A lot better, thankyou." Edie forced a smile. She reached back and rubbed her neck, which was stiff, a side-effect of sleeping on the hard floor.  
Her hair was a mess, a complete mess. She crossed her legs and rebraided it, growling at her stomach every time it growled at her.   
"You sound like a warg." Legolas said, straight faced as he bent down and picked up a pack from beside him, reached inside and brought out some bread. He tossed it to her and she caught it, just.  
"There is a stream of clean water through those trees." he said, indicating to his left.  
Edie glanced where he was pointing and finished with her hair. "Well, I shall return shortly." she said, getting up and disappearing through the trees.  
  
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"Someone approaches, Sir!" Melanthius reported, having just returned from scouting the area.  
Lord Antinous glared at the boy, "Well, who is it?" he asked impatiently.  
"One rider, Sir, I think it may be a messenger from the King." Melanthius said, flinching expectantly as if he had said something wrong.  
Lord Antinous did nothing but sneer, "Take some men with you and escort them here then, boy. Or do I have to do everything for myself?" Antinous said, as if it were obvious what to do in his fickle, quick-tempered mind.  
"Yes, Sir." Melanthius bowed low and gathered up some men, and left the clearing.  
  
They returned an hour later, escorting what appeared to be a messenger from King Laertes, indeed, he wore the garb of King Laertes servants.  
The messenger approached Lord Antinous and bowed low, almost scraping the floor. He appeared to be out of breath, as if he had been running, not riding a horse, and extremely nervous of approaching Antinous. His face was sweating and his grey eyes were wide as he addressed Antinous, "My Lord, a message from the Castle."  
"Yes, yes? Get on with it!" Antinous said restraining himself from hitting the boy to slap some sense into him.  
"The King has fallen ill. His health worsens every day. It is feared he will not last until the winter months. I have come to urge you to double your attempts in finding the Princess, if she is not returned to him soon he may die."  
Lord Antinous stood still for a moment, and then struck out, kicking the nearest tree and regretting it as the pain erupted in his foot. "Gah!" he exclaimed angrily, his face going red.  
Everyone within hitting space of him flinched inwardly, expecting him to lash out on them next.  
"Why must everything go so wrong?! I.argh!" he clenched his fists and teeth, trying to calm himself.  
"We must ride immediately. The Princess gets further away as we stand around doing nothing. Pack up and get to your horses. We leave in an hour, whether you are ready or not." he shouted at the men, "And as for you," he looked to the messenger, "Tell His Majesty that we are doing what we can, and the Princess will be returned unspoiled to the Castle shortly."  
  
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Edie and Legolas walked onward, the day was getting late and the sun was starting to set in the sky above. But they had lost so much time the day before that Legolas said it was essential that they walk onward until they could see no more. Edie did not complain, it was for her safety that he said this and she had to force herself to remember this every time she felt a complaint rising in her.  
Legolas walked just in front of her, making sure that he never got more than one meter in front of her, so that she was close behind.  
It was due to this that when he stopped suddenly Edie walked into his back and fell backwards to the forest floor. He looked round and his gaze fell upon her, he was silent as she got up again, rubbing her backside.  
"Can you hear that?" he asked quietly.  
Edie strained her ears to try and hear whatever it was that The Elf heard.  
She shook her head and they walked forward a few more paces before Legolas stopped suddenly again. This time Edie caught herself before she walked into him. She glared at his back to no effect.  
He turned to her once more, "Surely you hear that." he whispered softly.  
Edie shook her head again and they continued onward. It was only fifteen minutes later that she heard something, a voice. She kept on walking, she could not yet make out what the voice was saying. Then Legolas stopped again, and once again she walked into him and fell down. Cursing and screwing up her nose she stood up again, brushing herself off.  
Legolas was staring ahead, Edie peered round him and saw what he was looking at.  
An old woman wearing rags sat on a log, picking leaves out of her dark, woolen shawl.  
"Yes.she's pretty.very pretty." she was muttering to herself as she rocked slowly back and forth in the fading light.  
"By all the gods in the sky, why do we have to run into all the mad old women?" Edie mumbled under her breath. Legolas didn't appear to react, and was still glaring at the old woman as if she were an orc or other creature.  
"Very pretty.likes cake.wears her favourite pink dress.very pretty.pretty." the Old Woman smiled at herself.  
"Legolas, would it be possible for us to walk around this clearing?" Edie whispered uncomfortably.  
He did not answer, but took her wrist and stepped into the view of the Old Woman. She paid them no notice, but still mumbled to herself and started humming.  
"She is no danger to either of us." Legolas whispered back to Edie as they edged around her.  
They had almost walked past her, when the Old Woman's hand shot out and she grabbed Edie's leg.  
Edie screamed, took a breath and screamed again.  
  
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Please review, it doesn't take that long and it will make a sad, pathetic author happy! Thankyou and hugs! ;0) 


	13. Part of the Truth

New chapter, and one with a few answers in it, not all though. I couldn't have that - hehe!  
  
FantasyGirl - Wow, now you've reviewed me twice! So a double thankyou to you! Questions, questions, the world is full of questions. I wasn't going to have a second old woman, but there's a story behind it. I just tried to write it, but it's too long and complicated!  
  
Kapies - Thanks. Glad you like the story, and glad you thought it was funny ;0)  
  
Enjoy;0)  
  
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The Old Woman cackled insanely and sunk her long, dirty, talon-like fingernails into Edie's leg, drawing blood. Edie screamed again and Legolas let go of her wrist and before she could draw breath an arrow was loaded in his bow and was pointed at the Old Woman.  
"Unhand her." he said calmly.  
Edie's heart pounded against her ribcage. It had been more of a shock than anything else that had made her scream out loud. Now she held her breath, seeing out the corner of her eye the tip of Legolas's arrow.  
Almost as quickly as she had grabbed Edie's leg, the Old Woman let go and went back to rocking on her log, almost curling in on herself. "Very pretty…pretty…very pretty." she murmured and plucked a leaf out of the shawl.  
Edie glared at her for a second, mostly for scaring her and making her scream in that unladylike fashion, but also for touching her and hurting her.  
She turned on her heel and marched angry and a little shaken into the trees.  
The Old Woman looked up and straight into Legolas's eyes, "I know your secret..." she whispered and Legolas regarded her with a look of aversion before stalking off after Edie.  
"I know your secret!" came the cry from behind them, and then a long cackling laughter that seemed to echo around the whole forest, disturbing what little wildlife there was, and sending birds fluttering off into the sky.  
Edie shivered and reached for the back of her neck. That old woman was definately more scary than Mistress Antigone. And now she thought, what had Mistress Antigone been about to say before Legolas had walked in?  
She pondered upon this for quite a while, until they came to the edge of the forest and Legolas halted.  
"We shall make camp here tonight and go out onto the flat lands in the morning. It will be more dangerous there, we shall be in full view of every enemy."  
Edie raised an eyebrow, "Every enemy?" she asked in a quiet voice, not really wanting to know if there were more than the ones that chased her that were a threat to her.  
"Do not worry about it." Legolas replied and Edie stared at him suspiciously for a few seconds, looking for any sign that he was going to divulge more that just that.  
When he didn't Edie shook her head and sighed, even if she didn't want to know, it would still be nice if the Elf thought she was mature enough to take the news that there were more enemies than she thought.  
She snorted quietly and Legolas turned to look at her. "What is it you wish to know?" he asked, as if he had read her mind.  
"What is the danger? I thought we were only being persued from behind." Edie said, and sat down on the ground.  
"We are. But more danger lies ahead of us. Those that set out to persue you follow still. Edith, there are more dangers in the world than the dark haired man and his reluctant followers."  
Edie was stunned, that was the first time Legolas had addressed her as Edith. Now she had even more questions.  
"Lord Antinous." she murmered, it had been a few days since she had thought of him. "How do you know he follows us still? How do you know him? I have never talked of him to you."  
Legolas paused for a moment, offering her one of his hawk-like looks and then shook his head. "You remember the Old Woman, Mistress Antingone, no doubt?"  
"We met barely two days ago. It takes longer than that for me to forget a person." Edie said quite seriously, indeed, it had taken her a great number of years to forget Legolas before they met for a second time.  
"Do you remember talking to her? You told her many things."  
"In that strange and beautiful language." Edie said slowly, thinking back.  
"You spoke in the language of men, no other. She may have cast a spell upon you to make you divulge your secrets, your innermost feelings and thoughts. You thought you were talking another language, you were not. You told her many things and I listened. It is as simple as that."  
Edie felt a little disapointed, and worried at what she may have told Mistress Antigone. No wonder Legolas didn't trust the Old Woman. "What things did I tell her?" Edie asked, a lump growing in her throat. She was dreading his answer.  
"You wish to know everything?" Legolas asked uncertainly.  
Edie nodded.  
"You told her about your Mother, what little you remember of her. How you love her, even though you only knew her for such a short time. She asked you how we met, and you recounted our first meeting to her, and the fact that you were running away from your Nurse. You told her about your engagement to Lord Antinous, how you hate him. How you've hated him from the very first moment you met. You described him, his looks, his disagreeable character..."  
Edie stopped him by holding up a hand, "That is enough. Just answer me this. Did I say anything...really personal?"  
"No."  
Relief swept over Edie and she smiled at him. "You called me by my name and not my title."  
Legolas looked at her uncomfortably for a moment, "You should get some rest, we set off at dawn."  
  
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	14. Don't Touch the Waters

thought I'd make Leggy sound like a bit of a ponce in the beginning - heh-heh-heh! ;0)  
I know he goes a bit OOC in this chapter, and calls Edie 'Edie' and such, but I'm sorry, it just came out...y'know.  
  
Kapies - Feel special! ;0) LOL!  
  
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As the sun rose over the flat lands Legolas gently shook Edie awake. "Wake up." he said softly, "It is a new day, the sun rises, and we must move onwards."  
Edie moaned and forced her eyes open, even though it was not that bright she squinted at the sun, which lay behind Legolas, wreathing him in its soft light.  
"Come on, we must cross the flat lands, and then we must take a winding path in the mountains beyond."  
"Do you have to make everything look so bleak?" Edie asked him as she struggled to her feet.  
Legolas shot her a look but said nothing, and so they continued on their way.  
  
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It took them two days to cross the flat lands and when the great mountains loomed above them Legolas led Edie down into a large cave at the foot of the first.  
"Legolas, what are we doing in here?" Edie asked him, touching the damp wall.  
"Lord Antinous will not think to come through here. It is a short cut through the mountains that I discovered a while back." he said.  
Edie raised an eyebrow and continued walking behind him.  
They were getting deeper down into the cave, but to Edie's surprise it wasn't getting much darker. She had never been in a cave before, but in all the stories her Nurse used to tell her they had always been described as dark places, and the entrance was getting further and further away, as they normally do when one moves in the opposite direction to them.  
Edie sighed, "Legolas..." she trailed off, she had nothing to say, but being in the cave was unnerving her.  
She noticed a small stream trickling its way down the rocks to her right, its water glistened in the half-light as if it were made of tiny jewels.  
Edie stepped closer to it, but Legolas put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "Do not touch the waters!." he warned her, "They may look beautiful, but beauty isn't everything."  
"What will happen if I touch them?" Edie asked, gazing at the colours.  
"You will be turned into solid gold. Look!" Legolas pointed to what Edie had thought was a sculpture. A small bird was standing beside the stream, fixed like a small statue to the rocks.  
"That is a real bird?" Edie asked in amazement.  
"That was a real bird." Legolas corrected her gravely and nodded, pulling her gently along with him.  
"That was a real bird..." Edie said sadly, and glanced back at the statuesque figure.  
Legolas drew her onward, the stream was now getting wider, and very soon they were both walking carefully one behind the other along a small shelf with the waters glistening menacingly below them.  
"There is only a short way to go now." Legolas said finally, after Edie felt that they had been walking forever.  
"Where will we come out?" Edie asked, assuming that the cave was only on one level.  
"The other side of the mountain, and a little way up." Legolas said, and came to a halt.  
"Why are we stopping?" But as soon as the words were out of her mouth Edie saw that there was a dead end up ahead.  
"The only way is up." The Elf said, and hauled himself with considerable ease up onto a flat bit of rock.  
He offered a hand to Edie and pulled her up with him.  
Edie looked down at the swirling waters below and saw now that they came from an opening in the rock that was crumbling into the water as it gushed out in a resplendant jet.  
"Has it always been like that?" Edie asked pointing to the deteriorating wall.  
"No, that is a new development that I had not anticipated and it is worrying me. I think we should get out of here as soon as possible."  
Legolas moved swiftly onward and the shelf got tinner, and Edie tried to keep close to him. She didn't want to get lost in this cave, or slip and fall into the waters below to remain a living statue forever.  
Then again, they came to another dead end. Edie looked to Legolas but he was looking up with a slight look of worry on his face.  
"What is it, Legolas?" she asked quietly.  
"I can hear the waters coming. The corroding hole in the wall has burst and soon the whole mountain will be flooded. This is the only way up." he said shaking his head.  
The rocks on the interior of the cave were wet and slippery, and every time Edie grabbed hold of one, her hand slid off and all she was left with was a handful of dark green, foul-smelling slime.  
"Legolas." she said quietly, getting slightly worried, she could see the water below them rising and had already seen what would happen if it consumed them.  
"I'm thinking, Edie. I've never been in this situation before, the water has never risen before." he said, rubbing the back of his neck.  
He was looking around the place for something to hold on to as was Edie.  
Finally, after what seemed like forever Legolas gripped the rock in front of him.  
"I will climb up a little way and pull you up like before. The rock here is dry."  
Edie looked where Legolas was looking, indeed the rock was dry in small patches just above where he was standing and if they could just climb up there everything would be alright. In fact, quite a way up it cleared up altogether.  
Legolas pulled himself up to the dry rock and clutching it with one hand, reached down and grabbed Edie's wrist and dragged her partway up the rock. As soon as she could, Edie grabbed onto the rock in front of her and started climbing.  
"Don't look down." Legolas said as they got higher. As he said it Edie had to stop her head from doing exactly what The Elf had said not to do.  
"Don't say that." she mumbled concentraiting on the rock before her.  
"Sorry." he said, he was a lot higher than her. "I just don't think you should look down...and don't stop or slow down either."  
Edie started climbing faster, and after a little way she dared to look down, despite Legolas's warning. The sight she saw shocked her. The water was only a few meters below her and steadily rising. She gasped and almost slipped on the dry rock.  
"Legolas!"  
"Edie, don't look down! Just keep climbing and you'll be alright." he said, he was nearly at the top of the cave wall.  
She tried to climb calmly, but her heart was beating fast in her chest and she knew that if she fell then she too would become a golden statue like the bird.  
Legolas had reached the top and was holding out a slender hand, ready for when she came within his reach. Edie's legs and arms weren't used to this amount of physical activity and she felt as if she were getting slower and slower.  
"Come on, Edie. Just a little way now." Legolas said encouragingly, stretching out as far as he could.  
Edie could hear the water below her and she could feel the coolness that came off it only a little way away. She didn't look up, and she didn't look down. She concentrated on the dull brown rock in front of her and when she felt Legolas's hand lock around hers her heart leapt and he pulled her up.  
Struggling over the side of the rock she lay down, breathing heavily. Then she noticed spots of gold on her boots and she felt a little sick. The water had been that close to her, close enough to turn her gold.  
"Legolas." she said again, looking down at her boots. He loomed over her with a hand to help her up.  
"We need to get out of here before the water consumes the whole cave." he said, lifting her up.  
Edie walked wearily after Legolas, who kept looking back to check she was there, and when they finally came to the mouth of the cave the sunlight shone brightly outside and birds sang in the trees below as if there wasn't anything terrible at all.  
  
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	15. Calm Before the Storm

Doesn't it piss you off that Legolas is so perky in the mornings?  
I thought Thomas deserved to be in the limelight again...;0)  
Also this is a bit looong and sometimes OOC - sorry...*tries to look sweet so she will be forgiven and promises never to do it again*  
  
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A Messenger rode through the Castle gates on horseback and dismounted. Thomas watched him from a window, high up in the King's chambers.  
He had hardly left King Laertes's bedside in a week. Every once in a while the King would ask for news of his daughter, and regretfully Thomas would have to decline any knowledge.  
He hoped and prayed that this was the Messenger he had sent to find Lord Antinous and the search party, come back with good news, but even he knew in his heart that the Princess would not be found that easily.  
A few minutes later the doors to the King's chamber opened and the Messenger stepped inside.  
"What news of Lord Antinous and the Princess?" asked Thomas, rushing to the courier before he could walk any further in.  
"I found Lord Antinous and the search party in a clearing, not ten miles from here. It appears that they had camped there for a few days when one of the party found signs that the Princess had been there before them. There is no news of Princess Edith's whereabouts, my Lord, but Lord Antinous is optimistic of her safe return in the near future."  
The Messenger looked at Thomas for any sort of reply that he might relay back to Lord Antinous, his large grey eyes were expectant and his tunic was dirty. He looked as if he had not rested properly in days.  
"Go rest and get cleaned up." Thomas said, "I will tell the King the news, and you shall be called when you are needed."  
The Messenger bowed and made a hasty exit.  
Thomas turned and faced the King with a worried frown upon his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but the King coughed and opened his eyes.  
"I heard what was said. I am no fool, I know that my daughter would not be found as easily as Lord Antinous expects. He thinks she is a dear, sweet thing, and that she is. But hide and seek was one of her favourite games when she was younger, and she will not give up quickly." he said, his voice cracking and a half smile upon his face. "I miss her terribly."  
  
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As the day drew on, the sun got hotter and finally it started to sink in the sky.  
They came to halt by a large lake surrounded by dark, leafy trees and decided to set up camp for the night by the shore, a little way into the trees so that if anyone came by they wouldn't be seen as easily.  
Edie went down to the lake alone to bathe. The water was a dark, clear blue, but there was something slightly sinister in the way that it only rippled ever so slightly, as if there were precious little life in it. She was having second thoughts about getting clean, even though she had been walking all day and the sweat and dirt lay thick upon her skin.  
She sighed and stripped off her clothes, leaving them in a heap upon the grass, and walked slowly to the waters edge.  
Edie looked around, there was no life, no animals and the light was fading fast. She dipped her toes cautiously into the water, there was something off about this place, she could feel it.   
There was a rustle in the bushes behind her and she spun around, trying vainly to cover herself and expecting a wild animal to come crashing out.  
Nothing happened, and once again everything was still.  
Edie breathed out a long sigh and turned back to the water, nothing had changed, it was still cold and uninviting.  
"Godsdamnit." She mumbled and jumped into the water, feeling the frigid liquid wash all over her. She went under and came back up gasping for air, it was too cold and she had to get out of it. She swam to the shore and climbed back onto the muddy grass, shivering and trying to rub the water out of her hair with her hand. She stumbled over to her clothes and pulled them back on over her wet body, grumbling all the way back to the camp.  
Legolas looked up from the fire as Edie emerged from the trees.  
"How was it?" he asked, idly poking the flames with a stick.  
Edie screwed up her nose and huffed. "Terrible!" she said and slumped down by the fire still rubbing at her hair.  
Legolas said nothing, but smiled at her. She scowled back at him.  
  
The next morning as the sun rose, Edie woke up in no better mood. Legolas was already awake and ready to go.  
"Why didn't you wake me?" she grumbled as she struggled up, still half-asleep and trying her best to scowl at Legolas with her eyes not wanting to comply with her wishes.  
"I didn't want to anger you." He said quietly, and before she could reply he looked behind him and turned back to her with a finger to his lips. "Hush! I can hear something."  
"The only things that are living and breathing around here are you and I." She said walking over to where the Elf was standing and listening for herself.  
Indeed there was something moving around out there, and it wasn't being too subtle about it either. It seemed to be crashing through the trees and rapidly coming towards them.  
"We'd better get moving." Legolas said picking up his bow and taking her hand, pulling her through the trees in the opposite direction to whatever it was.  
"Leg...olas…slow down!" Edie breathed out as they ran along. "We…don't even know…what it is…"  
"Okay." Legolas said reluctantly and came to halt. "We're getting quite close to the lake now anyway, and we need to find a way around it."  
Edie sat down on the nearest boulder and Legolas looked down at her, apparently he wasn't amused at her lack of physical fitness.  
She looked back at him with a small amount of contempt in her eyes, "I'm not meant to run. I don't run. I'm a girl, and I'm meant to spend all my time sitting around waiting for suitors to come and marry me, so don't you give me that look!"  
Legolas continued to make hawk-eyes at her anyway.  
They sat in silence for an hour, Legolas looking out into the trees with his keen eyes, and Edie leaning her elbows on her knees.  
She picked out a small hunk of bread from her pack and started nibbling on it, very soon it was finished and she had nothing to do.  
She was bored, the air around the lake was damp and her hair was sticking to her face, she brushed a strand aside impatiently. "Legolas. Can we get moving? We've sat here for who knows how long and there really is nothing out there!" she said standing up with her hands on her hips.  
Legolas looked at her silently and raised an unimpressed eyebrow in her direction, and then pursing his lips he said, "Oh, alright." and picked up his quiver, slinging it over his shoulder, and held his bow.  
There was a ripple in the still waters of the lake that went unnoticed by them both, even to Legolas's sharp senses.  
"There is no need to be like that!" Edie said following Legolas as he stalked off around the eastern shore.  
He didn't answer Edie and this angered her even more.  
"Leg...!" was all she managed to blurt out, because before she could finish a great tentacle appeared from the waters and wrapped around her leg, whisking her off the ground and onto her front with a loud thud.  
Edie screamed. Legolas whipped round and had an arrow pointing at the creature before Edie could draw another breath.  
More tentacles came out of the water and another wrapped itself around Edie's waist and started slowly dragging her into the water.  
Edie dug her fingers into the muddy ground, but to no avail, her hands were clutching mud and grass, and the creature now had her dangling above the once calm waters, moving towards a great mouth full of sharp teeth that had appeared as if from nowhere.  
  
Legolas let loose one arrow, and then another. He aimed for the creatures eyes, two great glassy orbs of amber glinting in the morning light.  
  
The tentacles were moving madly in every direction and Edie felt as if she were being pulled apart, she saw Legolas shooting at the creature, if she hadn't been in so much pain she would have been quite impressed, the arrows were following the creature as it moved further away from the shore.  
  
Legolas aimed and fired, the arrow left the bow and buried itself in the creatures great head, he swiftly drew another from the quiver on his back and aimed once more for the immense eyes, but the creature moved quite quickly this time and the arrow fell off course and implanted itself in Edie's leg.  
  
Edie screamed once again. She felt pain, lots of pain. Then she saw the arrow in her leg. "Legolas!" she yelled almost angrily, but a lot more pained. Then she passed out.  
  
Legolas gave up with the bow, his forte, he threw it to the ground, drew his sword from its sheath, and waded into the water. He swung the sword and lopped off one of the offending tentacles, the creature roared in pain.  
"Princess!" Legolas shouted at her, she was now dangling limply from one of the tentacles high up in the air. The creature wasn't giving up its prey that easily.  
Every tentacle that came Legolas's way he hacked down, but there always seemed to be more of the wretched things.  
They were disgusting, stinking, dull brown, oozing. They looked like they were rotting away, and whenever Legolas had the misfortune to touch one they felt clammy and generally not nice.  
Finally, wet and exhausted, Legolas lunged at one of the creatures eyes, driving the sword through the amber orb. The creature bellowed, a high pitched screeching noise that hurt Legolas's sensitive ears. He winced, and pushed the sword in hilt deep and drew it out again. A deep crimson fluid gushed out, staining the surrounding water. The creature's blood.   
It roared again and dropped Edie as Legolas replaced the sword in its sheath and fought against the churning waters to Edie's side. Her limbs were heavy and limp, and she floated in the water as if she were dead. He picked her up and carried her to the shore, struggling against the waves the dying creature was making.  
Stumbling to the shore in an ungraceful manner Legolas laid Edie down on the cold, muddy earth, moving the wet hair back from her face.  
"Princess." he said to her, shaking her arm.  
She lay still. Legolas could see that she was breathing, there was a very slight movement in her chest.  
"Edie!" he shook her more urgently now, and was relieved when she started coughing and even when she vomited up a large amount of lake water and half-digested bread on his knees.  
"I'm sorry." she croaked, looking up at him.  
Legolas smiled down on her, and was stunned when Edie brought her hand up and slapped him round the face.  
"What was that for?" he asked, holding his cheek.  
"You festering pile of dung!" she said gesturing to the arrow that was protruding out of her thigh. "You shot me in the leg!"  
Legolas placed a hand on the arrow, and yanked, it came out of Edie's leg with a strange crunching noise. Edie screamed for what seemed like the hundredth time in only a few minutes, and grabbed his wrist. "Damn you!" she hissed at him.  
"Be thankful it didn't hit the bone!" he said, ripping the bottom of Edie's cloak to make a bandage.  
"Be thankful!" she practically screamed. "Be thankful? You shot me! And you're using my cloak to bind the wound!"  
Legolas said nothing, but continued to wrap the bandage round Edie's leg which was now bleeding profusely. He tightened it with the same force Edie was still grabbing his wrist.  
"Ow!" she squeezed even harder. "Loosen it!"  
"No. Not until you let go of my wrist."  
Edie reluctantly released her grip on him and sank down to the ground while Legolas loosed the bandage slightly.  
"It's still too tight." Edie grumbled and Legolas shot her a look.  
"If I make it any looser the blood-flow will not stop." he said, only now looking down at the vomit on his trousers and grimacing.  
Edie glared at him and then softened. "I'm still angry with you, but I'm sorry for being ill on you." she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.  
"That's alright." Legolas took off his cloak and unfastened hers. "Here, take my cloak, yours is soaked through and mine is not as wet."  
He stood up and passed her the cloak, and moved off towards the lake.  
The creature had sunk down to the bottom, leaving a crimson cloud on the water. Legolas moved a little way up the shore and jumped into the lake, and when he came up he walked to the edge wiping his hands on his trousers and dripping wet.  
Edie sat up slowly. Her face was pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes.  
"Shall we start walking again?" she asked Legolas as he approached, and he shook his head.  
"We can rest here a while." he said looking at her face with thinly veiled concern.  
  
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Okay, that's all for now, folks. More to come...(as I always say) 


	16. Sirius Goldsbane

Sorry this chapter took so long. I had writers block, and, well, we all get it.  
Things will start to make sense...  
  
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Lord Antinous and his men came to a small town, it seemed that they had overtaken the Elfen Prince and Edie, although neither party was aware of this.  
They camped on the outskirts and Lord Antinous took the boy, Melanthius, with him to a local tavern to find out if the Princess and her companion had passed through on thier journey.  
Sitting at a corner table, Lord Antinous sent Melanthius off in search of someone who could give them information.  
Melanthius came back with a rather shifty looking man. "I 'ear yar lookin' far infarmation?" he asked and sat himself down on a stool opposite Antinous, who regarded him with an expression of thinly veiled disdain.   
"Yes, we are looking for information." he said, raising an eyebrow. "It is a rather delicate matter..."  
"Tha' makes no difference ta me. It only matters if ya want ma other services." he said, flexing one of his hands, the other was conceiled in a black glove. "If ya know what I mean."  
"Oh." Lord Antinous looked slightly worried for a second, but quickly regained his composure and grinned maliciously, "May I ask how much you charge for your 'other' service?"  
"All depends on 'ow clean, 'ow discreet, and 'ow quickly it gets done." the man said rubbing his bristly chin.  
"It's a girl, quite small, no trouble. She doesn't even know how to wield a sword. It doesn't matter how discreet you are, as long as no-one sees you do it."  
The man smiled cruelly, "Ah'd like a drink ta start with." and stuck out his hand, "Tha name's Sirius. Sirius Goldsbane. Am I ta know yours?"  
  
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Melanthius did not know what to do. Lord Antinous really was taking things a bit far, he had hired an assasin to find and kill the Princess so that he, himself, could be King without the hinderance of a wife.  
He looked uncertainly to his master who looked back. "You will tell no-one of this, Boy. Am I understood?" he growled.  
Melanthius nodded numbly, but as soon as they got back to the camp Melanthius went and found Eurymachus and told him.  
"Are you sure?" Eurymachus asked, once Melanthius had finished recounting their visit to the tavern.  
"Yes, Sir."  
"This really is quite unexpected." Eurymachus said, scratching his forehead. "I thought he would have been happy just being King. That is why he wishes to marry the Princess. There is no love in this relationship, young Melanthius."  
"I did not think there was."  
"Well, I don't expect anyone is going to put a stop to this. No-one, not even I am brave enough to confront Lord Antinous." he sighed and patted Melanthius reassuringly on the shoulder. "I'm sure the Princess will be fine, after all, has she not got a companion to keep her safe?"  
This did not make Melanthius feel any better, he had seen the man who was send to kill the Princess, Eurymachus had not.  
  
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Later on in that day, when Edie was looking a little better, she and Legolas set off again. He supported her as she limped along, cursing in a very unladylike manner every so often and shooting him dirty looks.  
  
Edie sighed with relief as a small town came into view through the trees.  
"Civilisation." she breathed and was only too eager to spend the night in the local inn much to Legolas's displeasure. He was wary even now, when she was sure that Lord Antinous was far behind them.  
Even though she was not sure what went on at an inn, she imagined it to be much like a banquet from the laughter she heard as they approached.  
Legolas drew his hood up over his head, covering his tell-tale ears, even though the cloak barely reached his knees now that Edie had a portion of it around her leg, and the cloak had originally been hers.  
Edie stopped in her tracks a few paces away from the door. She took off Legolas's cloak from around her shoulders and handed it to him.  
"Put it on." she said, pushing it into his hands.  
He tried to refuse, but Edie glared at him, "Put it on! My cloak looks ridiculous on you, it will make us even more conspicuous."  
Legolas took his cloak back grudgingly and handed her the other. He fastened his old cloak back round his neck and pulled the hood up so only part of his face was visible, Edie copied him and they entered the inn.  
The atmosphere was warm and friendly, but not at all like Edie had imagined. It was much less civilised and more bawdy.  
She and Legolas took a small table in a dark corner and Edie gave Legolas some money to purchase some food. He turned the money over in his hand and looked at it curiously.  
"Is there something wrong with it?" Edie asked, she had never had to pay for anything in her life. She didn't think to ask Legolas if he had.  
"No...no..." he said before walking into the milling crowd.  
Edie observed the throng with undisguised interest and nerviousness. She felt that her hood protected her from anyone really noticing her, but she was wrong.  
She was looking around and she saw a man staring back at her, he unnerved her and so she fixed her gaze on the table in front of her, intently focusing on the cracks in the wood and the rough finish and the tankard rings where the local brew had been spilt.  
She saw a shadow looming over the table and she looked up, the man was standing above her, his dark eyes glinting in the light of the fire that stood to Edie's right.  
She smiled at him nervously, he did not return her smile, but glared at her and took the seat at the table opposite her.  
He was tall and he leaned on the table with his elbows, he had unruly black hair and a beard that looked unkept and wild upon his face. He squinted at her for a moment and Edie looked down, noticing that his left hand was covered with a black glove and he didn't move it.  
"What brings ya ta this part of Middle Earth?" he asked her, leering over and looking even less desirable than before.   
Edie shivered despite the warmness of the room and wished that Legolas would return soon.  
"Are ya gonna answer me? 'Eight of bad manners not ta." he growled, and leaned further towards her.  
"Erm..." Edie said stammering and trying not to catch the man's eye as she searched for Legolas.  
"There's no need ta be rude." he said, moving slightly in his seat.  
Edie thought she saw a flash of metal, and she backed away as far as she could before hitting the wall with her stool. She then breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Legolas's shadowy figure returning through the crowd bearing plates of steaming stew.  
She felt inclined to call out, but kept her mouth shut as she glanced back at the place where she had seen the metal, knowing that the Elf's high sense of danger would pick up on any ill intentions that the man had.  
  
Legolas reached the table where he had left Edie and noticed the man sitting opposite her, and Edie's look of uneasiness.  
Edie looked over at him, and he saw her expression brighten somewhat, "Sir, if you will excuse me, my husband is come and I feel he would be uncomfortable with your presence as we eat." she said, gesturing to Legolas.  
Legolas stiffened and put one plate in front of Edie. The man growled low and leaned towards Edie, "I'll be watching ya, little miss." he said, low enough so that only she could hear it. But Legolas's sensitive ears picked up on the threat and as the man moved away he sat and glared at his retreating figure.  
"Horrible, lecherous man!" Edie trilled when she was quite sure that he was far enough away that he would not hear.  
"You shouldn't talk to the likes of that." Legolas warned and looked down at the strew in front of him.  
"I didn't!" Edie picked up a spoon with more force than necessary and scooped up the food, shoving it into her mouth and making a face. "What is this stuff?" she asked, after she had swallowed.  
"House special." Legolas mumbled and put his own spoon reluctantly into it.  
  
When they had finished eating Legolas got up to arrange rooms for the night. Edie stayed in her chair, hoping that the man would not come back.  
Much to her dismay she saw him watch Legolas's retreating form and walk over to her once the Elf was out of sight.  
"Well then, little miss, it seems that you and I 'ave been in similar parts of Middle Earth." he said glancing down at the spashes of gold on Edie's boots that shone in the half-light. "Ya will not tell anybody of The Waters of Merendel."  
"I do not know what you speak of, Sir." Edie replied, feeling more confident knowing that Legolas was there to protect her, and she could see him talking to the Innkeeper.  
"I know who y'are." the man said, taking out a small vial, which Edie eyed suspiciously, shocked that this stranger claimed to know her.  
"What is that?" she asked, already feeling that she knew.  
The man held the vial with one hand, and with the same hand he took the black leather glove off the other. His gloved hand was lifeless and still, Edie had not seen it move in all the time she had spoken to him. Now she knew why. Underneath the glove his hand was solid gold, like the bird. He had been scarred by his greed. Almost as quickly as he had revealed it, the hand was covered up again, but Edie stared at it still.  
He reached towards her hand with his lifeless one and tried unsucessfully to grab her. In a last ditch attempt to harm her he leaned forward and with his ungloved hand he thrust the unstoppered vial towards her, Edie hastily scraped her chair back and got out of the way as the sparking liquid rushed out in a small stream and spilt over the table just in front of her, turning to old wood to gold.  
Edie felt herself go cold, and her face turned even more pale. She gawped at the table and knew that if she had been any slower it could have been her who was covered in that water.  
She hadn't noticed Legolas come up behind the man and put a knife to his throat. Quite a few people had turned round and were now eyeing the situation warily.  
"Leave now and I shall do you no harm." Legolas whispered in the man's ear. "If you threaten my wife again then the breath with which you say those words will be your last. Am I understood?" he asked, pushing the knife a little harder into the man's skin and drawing a small amount of blood, as a warning.  
The man nodded as the Innkeeper came over, wiping his hands down his trousers.  
"Alright then. We'll be having none of that in here." he said addressing both Legolas and the man. "Sirius, I've warned you before not to threaten my customers, and Sir, "he looked to Legolas, "I can only warn you not to cause any more trouble, this is a respectful establishment." he looked again to Sirius. "Out!" he said and pulled him to the door, Sirius made no move to protest.  
The inn was silent for a long moment, and then everyone started talking again as if nothing had happened.  
Legolas slid into the seat next to Edie and said, "I think it would be best if we retired now."  
Edie nodded numbly and let herself be lead out of the bustling room.  
  
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Please review...thankyou! 


	17. Things That Go Bump In The Night

Firstly, and I know I always say it, but I do enjoy getting reviews, thankyou to those who reviewed.  
And secondly, I would like to apologise for not updating sooner. I have writer's block, it's taken me a a week to write this chapter, hopefully I'll snap out of it soon and will have more chapters on the way. Also, big workload, bad, evil, nasty A2's. Hate 'em!  
luvs, Joy ;0)  
  
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"Our room is the second on the right." Legolas said, letting Edie walk up the creaky, old wooden stairs before him.  
"Only one?" Edie asked, snapping out of her reverie.   
"Yes. It saves money and it's safer." Legolas said blandly.  
"Right." she looked back at him as she gripped onto the shaky bannister for support and gently pushed his offered hand away.  
"There was only one room available." Legolas said as he stode down the hallway and pushed open the door to their room.  
  
The room was sparsely furnished, there was one bed, big enough for both of them to sleep in, and a small chest next to it. The windows were small and showed the night outside, and the walls were a dingy tan plaster with many cracks.  
"This is nice..." Edie mumbled sarcastically as she limped in and shut the door behind her.  
Legolas turned and said quietly, "This is the only room available. Go sleep in the stables if you wish."  
Edie glared back at him and sat down on the hard mattress, banging her leg on the side of the bed in the process. "Damn!" she hissed through her teeth and grabbed a handful of the blanket by her side. "Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!" Very un-Princesslike.  
"Are you alright...?" Legolas asked warily, anticipating a disagreement of sorts.  
"Do I look alright?" Edie asked, whirling round to face him with the blanket still clutched in her hand. The dark circles were still under her eyes. She was tired, and shaken, and angry, and needed her rest.  
Legolas shook his head, "Just go to sleep." he mumbled and looked out of the window, glaring intensely at the shapes outside.  
Edie said nothing to him in response, but pulled off her boots, silently, and lay down on the bed, pulling the blanket tight around herself.  
  
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Legolas awoke in the middle of the night, as we all know Elves sleep with thier eyes open and he was doing as such.   
He heard noises outside the door, and immediately he was alert. He pushed himself up from the floor, picked up his sword, and swiftly but silently went to listen beside it.  
There was someone moving outside, a door being opened and then shut again. There was still somone moving outside. Legolas tensed as they stopped outside the door.  
He saw the handle move slowly, very slowly, almost unnoticably so. His grip tightened about the hilt of the sword, and he half closed his eyes so that he could hear the person breathing outside. It sounded like a man, harsh, he had been outside, and the cold was still sticking to his clothes.  
The handle was still turning, slowly, slowly, and then he heard the click of the lock falling out of place, and then the door started moving slowly, groaning ever so slightly.  
Edie stirred in her sleep, and Legolas prayed that she wouldn't wake up. At this point in time she would be more of a hinderance than a help. She settled back into sleep and Legolas moved round so that he was blocking the intruder from getting to her.  
He stood, poised. Then there was a knocking on the door.  
"Hello?" it was the Innkeeper's gruff voice.  
Legolas frowned and pulled the door open, hoping that the shadows would cover his ears and hair. "Yes?"  
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I disturb you? I was wondering if you were planning to have breakfast tommorrow."  
Legolas looked back at Edie. "Yes." he said quickly and shut the door in the poor man's face.  
Edie woke up with a start. "What was that?" she asked groggily.  
"Nothing." Legolas said, sighing. "Just go back to sleep."  
  
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	18. The Real Edie

Feeling unloved - please review...*pout* *wibble*...:0(  
  
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Edie woke up before Legolas and saw him lying on the floor with his eyes opened. This unnerved and worried her at first, but then she realised that he was sleeping and not dead as she had first thought, as his chest heaved slightly and the low sounds of breathing escaped his lips, barely audible.  
She lay and watched him for a few minutes, marvelling at how beautiful the Elf was with the morning light spilling softly through the window and down, down upon him came its rays.  
His eyes were a clear, ocean blue, and his hair as golden as the sun. His hand was wrapped loosely around his bow as if he thought an enemy would attack at any moment and he would have to spring into action, firing the arrows that lay in his quiver at a great speed.  
He must have felt her eyes boring into him, for he awoke and blinked, sitting up and looking around the room, and then at Edie.  
"What's the matter?" he asked, still blinking, it appeared that he was not a morning person as Edie had originally thought.  
Edie bit her lip, holding back a giggle. "Nothing." she mumbled and looked down at the bedsheets, noticing that her wound had been bleeding during the night and decided not to mention it. She had been irritable the day before, and was adamant not to be so on that day.  
  
After a quick breakfast, the pair set off again with fresh provisions, walking through the village together, and only Legolas was aware that they were being followed closely by Sirius.  
He could hear him, and smell him, and he was sure that it was he who had been moving around outside their room before the Innkeeper had interrupted him.  
He was very mindful of Sirius following them into the wooded area, and he could hear every leaf and twig that his heavy feet chanced to step on. Worried for Edie's safety he urged her onwards, and was quite surprised when she did not grouse and complain.  
  
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Lord Antinous was ever watchful for another messanger from the King. He had recieved two more messanges since the first, informing him of his Majesty's rapid decline in health and knew that it would be only a matter of weeks before his health gave out and his tired body gave in to death.  
He chuckled to himself as he knew that he would be named King, the favourite of Laertes.  
Soon the annoying little Princess would be dead - he had trust in the sinister man from the tavern and eagerly awaited news of his success as well.  
The men, he knew, were still looking to return the Princess to his Majesty in pristine condition. Not if he could help it.  
  
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After a few days walking they came to another village, this time though, Legolas insisted that they made camp just outside and slept beneath the stars, and was again a little shocked that Edie did not object.  
As Edie sat down on the earth, nibbling on a piece of bread and looking at a small beetle that was walking across the ground Legolas made a fire.  
"I do not mean to worry you, but there is someone pursuing us." he said quietly.  
Edie smiled, "Oh, I know that Legolas. I've known that since we started out." she said absently picking up a twig and poking the beetle.  
"There's someone else. Closer." The Elf said and turned to her.  
"Oh." Edie put the twig down and looked at him. "Is it...that man?" she asked, wrinking her nose in distaste.  
Legolas nodded and went back to the fire.  
"Well, I can deal with that." she said airily, feeling a lot more liberated than she had in days, even though there were now two people that sought them.  
She was fed up with being in pain, worrying about being dirty, and running away. Now she just thought that if she opened her mind, and stopped worrying about things - basically let herself go - then she would have a better time and they would probably cover more ground without her bellyaching.  
"I've had a revelation, Legolas." she declared proudly.  
Though she could not see it, he smiled as he finally got the fire going, and then looked to her.  
"Oh yes? Please continue." he said, setting into the earth with his legs crossed beneath him and his hands laced together under his chin.  
"I have realised that being a Princess is not for me. I want to be free. I don't want to wear restrictive dresses in disgusting colours." she said, refering to the lovely pink she always had to wear as a child. "I am fed up with trying to be clean, I am fed up with being resentful, and most of all I'm fed up with worrying. It's all too much. A girl my age shouldn't have to worry about the sorts of things I do."  
Legolas raised an eyebrow and put a thoughtful finger to his lips. "You're shirking away from your duties to your people. I don't mean to sound judgemental, but don't you feel a responsibility to them?"  
"No, no, no, no, no." Edie sang lightly. "You're not going to get me out of my good mood."  
"I'm not trying to. I'm just saying that by running away, true you're getting out of a terrible union, but by doing so you are essentially leaving the people with Lord Antious to be their King once your father dies."  
"Well, that won't be for a long time. Perhaps I'll go back when I feel ready. When Lord Antinous..." she sneered at his name. "...is married to someone else. Not me. I can't stand the man. He sickens me. Just the mention of his name threatens to worsen my mood. But no. I will not be changed. I want to live. I don't want to go back to the castle. I was cooped up there. I want to fly free, Legolas." she said quietly, with tears of emotion in her eyes. "I felt so trapped when I was younger. I would escape into the world of faerietales, and then when Lord Antinous arrived on the scene, I was only nine summers old. I wasn't old enough to have my hopes of a perfect life dashed so cruelly against the rocks. No. I...I...I just want to live for once without being reminded who and what I am." she said hitting the ground and letting the tears flow freely now as all the feelings and thoughts she had pent up for years finally came out.  
Legolas nodded knowingly and said nothing. Now he saw the real Edie. Not the hard shell she had worn. Being bossy, and uptight, and quick to anger was just her way of coping with who she was.  
This was the real Edie.  
  
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	19. The Dream

A.N - I apologise for my astounding lack of updates and I can only blame myself...and the ton of work I've had to do, and of course every writers friend the good old writer's block - yay - so, here is my latest offering, I hope it's satisfactory, and I hope another one shall be on its way soon...;0)  
  
LOTR fan - I'm glad that you don't think Edie is a Mary-Sue. I don't think she is, I didn't make her one. The name Sirius, I must admit that I had been reading quite a bit of Harry Potter when I wrote him in. I was totally stuck for a name, and so his just kinda fitted. There will be mushy stuff later on, but not the kind that everyone would expect. I won't spoil it now, otherwise no-one will read it. The thing with the tentacles isn't the 'Watcher in the Water', but that's where I got my idea from. Mistress Antigone will return - but not in this chapter though...  
  
aranel_elf - Thanks ;0)  
  
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Legolas and Edie began walking again at first light. The hot sun beat down its merciless rays upon them, and Edie marvelled at the strange turn in the autumn weather.  
She had taken off her cloak, and now carried it in her hands, letting the hem drag in the fallen leaves of the forest.  
They had decided, or rather Legolas had decided, that they would around the little villages and hamlets that they came upon, and only enter them when needs provided.  
"Legolas, where are we going?" Edie asked, wiping her brow with the cloak.  
"You need not worry about that." he said and stepped over a fallen log.  
Edie sighed as she stepped over it after him, and got her cloak caught in a branch. She tugged at the fabric and it came away, leaving a small tear, and nearly sending her back onto her rear.  
Edie examined it as she continued walking and tutted.  
"This cloak is not going to survive the winter." she said and wrapped it up into a small bundle.  
"Amin sinta." *I know* Legolas said, raising an eyebrow. "You need to look after it."  
He halted as they came to a fallen tree tha blocked thier path. It seemed that they were walking almost where its centre lay. It was very long and rather wide, and it would take them at least another hour to navigate around it and come back to the same path they were on.  
Edie sighed, "What are we going to do now?" she asked, rubbing her leg gently, it was beginning to ache with all of their walking, but she wasn't going to complain.  
Legolas stood and regarded the great tree with an expression somewhere between mild annoyance and his usual hawk-like look. His long blond hair fell over his shoulders as he knelt down between the branches, yet somehow remained out of his face. Edie watched him touch the bark tenderly, and then as if testing it.  
"What are you doing?" she asked him quietly, still watching, trying to see what he was looking at.  
"I'm seeing if we can climb over it, it may look sturdy on the outside, but the flesh inside could be decayed."  
"Well, is it alright?"  
"Hush, you are too impatient." he said, and touched the bark again.  
He leapt gracefully up onto the tree and held out a hand. "Come on." he said and Edie let him help her up.  
Legolas stepped over the rest of the protruding branches and jumped back to the ground.  
Edie stood hesitantly, clutching her cloak to her chest. The ground did look a long way down. She took a deep breath and prepared to jump, but her legs wouldn't move.  
"Legolas, I can't." she said rather pathetically.  
"Climb down then."  
"I can't." she said, seeing no way that she could get down.  
"Jump then."  
Edie huffed, annoyed with herself more than anything, and jumped. She landed not in Legolas's waiting arms, but on her left leg and yelled.  
Legolas hissed in air through his teeth sympathetically. "Perhaps you should not have jumped." he said.  
  
***********  
  
They kept walking and day quickly turned to night and they camped, once again, upon the ground.  
Edie laid down her head to sleep and a strange dream came upon her.  
  
She was walking in a wood, stepping through the trees, pushing branches out of her way. Her leg didn't hurt anymore, and she carried nothing with her.  
She heard noise. Someone was singing a beautiful song. An Elven maiden perhaps, or some other being from her story books.  
She walked towards the noise, searching for the owner of such an angelic voice.  
She came to a grove, the singing was getting louder. She pushed a leafy bough aside and saw a woman, sitting by a pool, shrouded in a fine cloak of grey silk. There were tiny white and violet flowers surrounding the pool, which was filled with shining water, and lush green grass that spiked up softly all around.  
She stood in awe, watching the woman. She couldn't see her face, but imagined her to be a fair maiden of exquisite beauty.  
The woman noticed her and stopped singing.  
"Oh, please don't stop because of me. Do go on." Edie said, still staring at her, wide eyed.  
The woman beckoned her to come closer.  
Edie warily stepped forwards a few steps.  
Again, the woman wished her closer, and Edie walked now, drawn to her.  
The woman reached out a hand to Edie, who was now but a few feet away. Instead of being young as Edie had expected her hand to be, it was old and knarled. Edie wanted to back away, but she couldn't.  
"Come, child." the woman said, her voice was old and cracked.  
Despite her greatest effort, Edie walked forward and the woman placed her hand upon Edie's cheek. She flinched inwardly, but outwardly she did not move.  
The woman reached with her other hand and drew back her hood. Edie immediately recognised her worn face, it was the old woman from the wood.  
Again, Edie inwardly recoiled, wishing that she could be somewhere else.  
"I know you." the old woman whispered. Her voice sounded like autumn leaves, crackling underfoot.  
Edie felt a chill pass through her body.  
"I know you. My sister knows you...we can see right through you..." she said in a sing-song voice that sounded oddly eerie.  
"Sister?" Edie asked, finding her voice.  
"You know her. She has seen inside of you." she said, cocking her head to one side and humming.  
Edie could feel her hand on her face, it was so rough, so coarse, as if it had worked every day of that woman's life.  
Edie breathed in and out, deeply through her nose.  
Then there was a flash, like lightening and Edie woke up with a start.  
Legolas was sitting by the fire, looking out into the woods, he was alert as always, and turned when Edie sat up suddenly.  
"That old woman, she did something to me! She put a curse upon me!" Edie said, looking at him with wide eyes.  
  
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	20. Startling Revelations

A.N: Again I must apolgise for my hanus lack of chapters. I have been in a play, and have therefore been learning lines and trying to fit in all my year 13 work rather than writing. But lady muse has visited me once more and I couldn't help writing. I've tried out a new way of writing, I hope it will be sucessful. Please tell me what you think. If you don't like it I may go back to the old style. Thankyou all for being so patient with me. ;0) Princess Joy ;0)  
  
LOTR Fan - Thankyou for you review. It has been greatly appreciated. ;0)  
  
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The moon and stars twinkle down through the trees above Edie and Legolas. They create a pale blue light that washes over Edie's frantic face.  
Legolas shakes his head and inwardly sighs. A nightmare. Is that what all her fuss is about?  
"Legolas! She put a curse on me!" Edie says again, this time the desperation in her voice comes through a lot more clearly.  
"May I ask which old woman you are referring to." Legolas says quietly, and tries to make sense of what Edie is saying.  
"The old woman!" Edie says loudly, grabbing a handful of leaves from the forest floor and scrunching them up, as if it's obvious to all and sundry who she is talking about.  
"Which? You know that we have come across many."  
"The...one...you know!" Edie says, and waves her arms about madly as if trying to describe in the air who the woman is that she's talking about.  
"Really. You aren't making very much sense. Calm down and tell me then." Legolas says, glaring at her.  
As per usual, Edie thinks, it seems to her that the Elf always has some kind of serious look on his face.  
"The one with the...woman...old...M...Lady...Mistress Antigone!" she almost shouts as she remembers the name, making every bird in the trees nearby flee for fear of their lives.  
Legolas shakes his head. This only serves to aggravate Edie even more.  
"What? Do you think I'm lying, or made this up or something?" Edie asks.  
"No. I just know that you're wrong about Mistress Antigone."  
"How? How do you know?"  
"Because...it's complicated, Princess."  
Edie ponders this for a second.  
"Well, go on then. It seems to me that we can take the liberty of a few hours to discuss exactly what connection you have to that old woman and her sister."  
Legolas sighs again, something that the usually patient Elf has taken to doing quite a lot. He knows that he will have to tell Edie.  
"Very well." he says, and adopts the pose of one telling a story to a young child, which is what Edie is compared to him. "It was a long time ago when I met your...old woman, Mistress Antigone, and her sister Eurydice. They are two very old women, very old for two humans, older than one hundred years old."  
Edie remembers hearing of half-breeds, humans with Elven blood that have lived for hundreds of years, surpassing the expectations of their peers. Branded as special, often with other Elven traits. Legolas continues on with his story.  
"I was walking silently through a forest one day, a long time ago, when I saw a beautiful maiden reading beneath a great tree. She looked so absorbed with her story, so at peace with the world around her. I stood hidden and watched her for some time. After a while she stood up and left the spot. I stood and waited for her, and sure enough the next day she came back to read again. She did this every day, and so I watched her every day. I was quite taken by her. By her human fragility perhaps. I liked to watch her read, different books. I liked the way her eyes lit up when she read an interesting passage, and sometimes, a rare treat, she would laugh, a soft, tinkling laugh at something she found amusing. After a lunar cycle the weather began to turn cold, and she would not come out so often. Selfishly, I was afraid of losing those moments watching her, so I followed her when she left one day. She was almost out of the forest when, in my carelessness, I stepped on a twig and she turned and saw me, hiding in the trees. I let her see me. She seemed quite shocked, but a kind smile played upon her lips and she walked towards me.  
'Hello, Sir, can I help you? Have you lost your way in the woods. There is a village quite near. Let me show you.' she said. I let her show me. I didn't know what to say to her. She asked me my name, and I told her. She asked me a good many questions and each one I answered, and when she finally asked me where I was from, I could do nothing but tell her. 'I am from Mirkwood, I am Prince Legolas.' She was surprised, but also curious. She had never seen an Elf before..."  
Edie sighs, is this story going anywhere, she thinks, and then she asks Legolas.  
Legolas is quite irked that Edie has interrupted him in the story. "Yes it is going somewhere." he says.  
Edie shrugs and says, "Go on then, get on with it. This perfect woman is beginning to annoy me."  
Legolas quietly clears his throat and continues, "As I was saying, she had never seen an Elf before, so that lead to more questions."  
Again, Edie interrrupts. "More? She certainly is nosy. Did you have a relationship with her?" Edie asks, hoping that this little intervention will hurry up Legolas's story.  
Legolas looks a little embarrassed, something that Edie has never seen on him before. It doesn't suit him, embarrassment.  
"Yes. And out of this relationship she bore a child. Alas, she was already in a marriage union, otherwise I would have asked for her hand myself. Naturally, her husband believed the child to be his. It had no Elfish markings, it looked quite human, but I knew the girl-child was mine. She was called Iphigenaia and I made sure that she could want for nothing. Eventually, when she married, she bore children, two girls, twins, and she called them Antigone and Eurydice, a son and another daughter. So, these old woman, as you call them, are of Elven heritage. Mistress Antigone has not cursed you. She wouldn't."  
Edie is taken aback. She now has a new slant on Legolas, this is one that she didn't expect. She thought Legolas was beautiful, but boring. She looks at him for a few moments and then grunts.  
"Well..." she says, but cannot think of anything more to say.  
"Get some rest, you need it." Legolas says, and goes back to looking at the fire. Edie lies back down again, she can feel her heart beating in her chest, and the cold wrapping itself around her. She pulls her cloak tighter around herself and tries to sleep.  
  
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	21. The King

A.N - Sorry this is only a short chapter, but I feel that it is vital to the plot.  
More Legolas and Edie to come...;0)  
  
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Thomas stood and watched as the holy man read the King his last rites. He gazed sadly at the whitened, frail form that housed the King's weakened spirit. He would die very soon.  
"Your Majesty, is there anything I can do that will make you more comfortable?" he asked quietly, solemnly.  
King Laertes opened his mouth, but only a weak rasping sound came out.  
He beckoned for water and it was brought forth. Thomas held the cup for the King as he took a sip.  
"Bring me my daughter and I shall die a happy man." he croaked out, falling into a fit of coughing.  
Thomas licked his dry lips and shook his head sadly. "There is still no news from Lord Antinous, Sire."  
"Oh, Edie. Why did you run away? I only wanted the best for you..."  
"Your Majesty, I'm sure Lord Antinous is doing everything he can." Thomas said, knowing in his heart of hearts that he was not.  
"Thomas..." the King said almost inaudibly, so Thomas leant down next to the King's mouth and listened. "Tell my wife that I love her..."  
Thomas leaned back again, confused. "Your Majesty. Your wife has been dead for many years." he said. But it was too late, King Laertes had already breathed his last breath.  
  
  
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	22. The End Is Nigh: Part 1

LOTR fan - Thankyou for your great support - I do plan to carry this fic through right until the end - I've written the end already, it's just a matter of getting there. I'm a bit stuck at the moment because the chapter that came before this one was meant to be somewhere in the end, but then I realized that I'm trapped myself in the way that I've written the end and have to write some more to complete the story - yes, the end is drawing near (but not here yet). I hope it is satisfactory. Merry Christmas!  
  
Sil-Gathien - If this story was a Mary-Sue, then Edie would be all over Legolas, licking his feet e.t.c...as she is not, I therefore conclude that this is not a Mary-Sue. C'mon, Edie doesn't know everything, she's moody, childish at times and Legolas hasn't fallen head over heels for her - eh? Antigone? She's not an Elf, she's part-elf, and her mother was human, therefore she was given a human name (that I stole from the good ol' A.G's.) Oh, and no offence taken - everyone is entitled to their own point of view.  
  
  
  
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Sirius Goldsbane has gathered around him a group of six men. All hungry for money, and all willing to kill to get it. He grins at them, and raises a dark eyebrow as he surveys each and every one of them.  
There is Jacob, the tall one, with a chipped tooth and shaggy hair at the front and behind him stands Uveus who has a nervous twitch in his left eye and keeps fingering the knife at his side. Then there is Darathorn and Dogdrey, the twins that he can only tell apart because Dogdrey spits when he speaks. And finally Goldear and Roewog his good friends.  
He has brought them to the forest, a little bit away from the girl and her strange companion whom she had claimed to be her husband.  
Sirius spits on the ground at the thought of him and begins.  
"What we're gonna do is falla th' two of 'em until they 'ave passed through th' village, an' then through th' woods on th'other side o' the village until I say. Then...we strike!" he said, smashing his fist down into the palm of his hand for effect.  
There are a few grunts of agreement and Dogdrey nods enthusiastically.  
"Righ', now tha's settled, all we 'ave to do is wait."  
  
***********  
  
The following day Legolas and Edie decide to walk around the village, instead of going straight through it, lest anyone should see them and wonder what two shadowy figures are doing wandering about the area.  
They pick up their belongings and begin the tedious walk that will take them the best part of a day, neither of them talking about the previous night's revelations.  
Legolas is well aware of the men that are following them, and not wanting to worry Edie he subtly hurries her along.  
Still curious as to where they are actually going Edie asks him.  
"Legolas, where are we headed?"  
Legolas looks as if he's about to disregard the question, but then finally relents, he has held off this question for far too long. "We are going to Mirkwood, my home. There is still quite a way to go, we must yet cross Anduin, the great river, and much more."  
"Oh." Edie breathes out. "So I will meet more elves like you."  
"That is entirely possible."  
"So, I won't be going back home. Ever."  
"That is not for me to decide."  
"At this present moment, I don't think I shall. I never liked it there anyway."  
"Wait until we reach our destination, it may not be to your taste."  
"I'm sure it will be better than...urgh...I just don't want to talk about it." She says with a shake of her head.  
"As you wish."  
They continue on in silence until they have rounded the village. Edie hears a twig snap behind them and spins round. It is nothing, a rabbit. Edie breathes out a sigh of relief, but a strange feeling has been slowly coming upon her ever since they set off from their last camp. She decides to tell Legolas.  
"Legolas." Edie says and stops walking. Legolas looks back at her, he is eager to walk onwards.  
"We must continue walking. No stopping until dark, and perhaps not even then."  
Edie eyes flick to the forest floor for a brief moment, and then she looks straight back at the Elf.  
She laces her fingers together nervously and bites her bottom lip.  
"I must say this...I don't know how to explain this feeling I've been getting ever since we set off this morning. It..." she pauses for a moment and scratches her head, thinking about how to word it. "It's like I can feel...there's someone following us, isn't there?" She says in a rush, not even sure if she's right, chiding herself for being so suspicious.  
Legolas's face shows no emotion, although he is quite amazed that Edie picked up the presence.  
"Then I can hide it from you no longer. Yes, there are people following us. Assassins, I think, sent by Lord Antinous. The man from the tavern and a band of others. They're so loud, I'm surprised you didn't hear them as well. They get closer by the second, as does Lord Antinous and his followers. They too are not as far away as you think they are."  
Edie puts a hand on her hip and scratches her head again, looking around and trying not to panic.  
"If it comes to it, we must fight them." She says and rubs her chin thoughtfully, breathing out in short little blasts.  
"It is fairly certain that we will come to blows, yes."  
"Right...right. I suppose I must fight then, for you surely cannot do it alone."  
"I won't let you fight."  
Edie gestures down to her leg. "I will help you fight, perhaps you grow weak in your old age and cannot hold your bow straight. You certainly must be getting a little blind." Again her eyes go down to her leg. She is a little angry at being told what to do, so she lets a bit of venom slip into her voice.  
It appears that Legolas didn't hear her, or he is choosing to ignore her comment. He is looking through the trees behind them with the hawk-like look in his eyes that Edie has grown to know. It appears to Edie that his sharp ears are alert, and his stance suggests that of a snake, about to strike, his muscles taut and his long, blonde hair flowing down his back.  
Then he speaks quietly without averting his gaze. "Go and hide. They approach."  
Edie almost moves, but stops herself. "No." she says, standing her ground. "I will not move. I will not be told what to do. I can be of some use to you."  
"Go and hide in the bushes, or I will move you myself."  
Edie snorts out air through her nose. "Legolas. I will not move! I will stand by your side and fight like a warrior! I may be a Princess, but my heart is strong!"  
Legolas slowly turns to face her. The men are almost upon them.  
  
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More to come...;0) The end is nigh... 


	23. The End Is Nigh: Part 2

LOTR Fan - Again, Thankyou for your review - honest, constructive, and encouraging. Sorry if Sirius is a bit cartoonish -I didn't really mean him to be that way, I guess I'm just not that good at writing believable bad characters. I suppose I've watched too many cheesy movies, or something like that. Thankyou, again. ;0)  
  
innocent-penguin - Thankyou so much for your wonderfully informative and constructive review. It is so nice to know that you took some time out of your obviously busy schedule of flaming other people's hard work to write such lovely comments about mine. *finishes being sarcastic*  
Have Mary-Sue's changed drastically in the last few seconds? Because I shall only say this one more time about my story - it is not a Mary-Sue. There is not a character in it called Mary-Sue, there is no romance between Legolas and Edie. The reason Legolas is helping Edie will be revealed in the last chapter - why are people so goddamn impatient about these things? There is a reason, it's a good reason. (Also, just for the record 'Just' and 'his' don't have the letter 'z' in them.)  
  
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"You cannot fight!" Legolas practically snaps at Edie. "What are you going to do? Stand there and swing your knife around aimlessly, hoping to hit something before you get cleaved in half yourself?"  
Edie is taken aback. She is stunned, and for a moment does not speak, just stands looking at Legolas with her mouth half open and her hands down loosely at her sides.  
"I...I thought I could help."  
"I just think you would be safer if you went and hid somewhere." Legolas says, calm once again, gesturing to the trees and bushes that surround them.  
"I am no coward!" Edie says defiantly.  
"You have no skill with sword or bow. I know you are no coward, you showed that the second time we met. I worry for you, I don't want you to be endangered unnecessarily and your leg will hold you back."  
Edie snorts, "Legolas, let me fight."  
"No, I will not. No more arguing. You will hide." The Elf says, and ushers her off into the trees.  
  
***********  
  
Sirius Goldsbane brings his men forth and sends them into the clearing. While the Elf is busy with them, he will have the honours of applying his trade to the girl.  
He watches from the bushes as the men creep up behind the Elf, who turns and shoots Darathorn with an arrow. Fast as ever. Down he goes, five left.  
Sirius looks around, he would bet his trade that the girl is hiding somewhere in the bushes. He strolls casually around the perimeter of clearing where the Elven Prince fights, looking for any sign of movement with his sharp eyes.  
  
***********  
  
Edie is hiding in a bush where she has a good view of Legolas fighting, but will not be seen.  
She watches him as he now uses his sword to fend off the enemy and his skill causes her admiration for him to grow, despite what she has previously said.  
Legolas has disposed of all but one of the attackers, who is battling bravely against him.  
Then Edie spies a pair of legs walking past, and recognises them as those of Sirius, the man from the tavern. She freezes, and tries to breath as quietly as she can.  
Edie reaches down for the 'fruit' knife in her boot, and pulls it quietly out, holding it in front of her as if its very presence will protect her.  
She sees Sirius walk past her, and he goes a little way into the trees. She almost sighs with relief, but he turns and strides towards the bush where she is hiding.  
Edie stays still, and hopes that if she makes no noise, then Sirius will just go away. No such luck.  
He looks down at her. "'Hidin' from someone?" he leers down upon her.  
Quick as a flash, Edie gets up and bolts despite her aching leg, cursing along the way. She tries to run to where Legolas is - she can see him in the clearing - but Sirius is too fast and catches up with her.  
He grabs her round the waist and takes the knife off her, wasting no time before he stabs it deep into her side.   
Edie gasps and falls as Legolas comes up behind Sirius and gets him by the throat, slamming him up against the nearest tree.  
Edie rolls over and looks numbly at her side. It seems that everything is running in slow motion as she runs her bloodied hand in front of her eyes, gawping at the iron red. She can't feel anything. She is in shock.  
  
Legolas holds the man by his throat against a tree. "Who sent you?" he asks, giving the assassin the hawk-eyes.  
Sirius does not answer, but stares at Legolas defiantly.  
"Who sent you?" Legolas repeats, this time pressing a little harder on the man's throat.  
"I'll never tell ya!" Sirius spits at Legolas.  
"Who sent you?" Legolas asks and narrows his eyes. "It was Lord Antinous."  
Sirius looks at Legolas with contempt, and Legolas can see in his eyes that he has guessed right.   
"Why?" he asks. "Why would Lord Antinous send a man like you to kill an innocent?"  
"I don't know. I'm just doin' ma job." Sirius confirms Legolas's suspicions once and for all.  
The Elf shakes his head bitterly and lets go of Sirius's neck, steps back, and shoots him in the heart with an arrow before Sirius can draw another breath.  
  
***********  
  
More to come...;0) 


	24. The End

A.N: Ooh, last chapter. Scary!  
  
LOTR Fan - Gawd, I really hope you like how this ends. I really really (cannot tell you how much I...) appreciate your reviews. I understand what you're saying about Edie not being allowed to die, I like her as a person and tried very hard not to make her Mary-Sueish -she' not perfect - I tried to think what I'd do in the kind of situations she was in - basically make a fool out of myself, and so I made her make a fool out of herself...just for the record, she's not based on me. Okay, ramblingy thingy over with. Please read...and enjoy ;0)  
  
***********  
  
Edie lies where she fell, the gash in her side spilling a great deal of blood and staining her shirt.  
Legolas rushes to her side and kneels beside her, taking her hand and pressing it over the wound with his own.  
Edie looks up at him with tears in her eyes, "Legolas, am I dying?" she asks quietly, worry and pain spreading across her face.  
Legolas glances around, and then stares down at her not knowing what to say. But Edie reads it in his face.  
"I'm dying..." she says glancing to the side, and then back at him, not quite ready to believe it.  
Legolas nods slowly, sadly.  
"Legolas..." she begins, but Legolas silences her with his words.  
"Nay, Child. Rest now...It is your time."  
Edie licks her dry lips, "Legolas, you will never understand mortals because you are immortal...please answer me." She says, her voice cracking and tears spilling down her face.  
The Elf looks mournfully down at Edie and places a slender hand upon her paling cheek. "What do you want to know?" he asks.  
"Wh...why did you help me?" Edie says, her breath heavy and rasping upon her throat.  
Legolas offers her a hint of a smile, "Because I love you, Princess."  
Edie shakes her head, "Why?"  
"Because...because we are related, you and I. You are my great great grand-daughter." he says, the smile still playing sadly across his lips.  
"What?" Edie says, her breathing growing shallow as time passes and her voice barely a croaked whisper.  
"I am your great great grand-father."  
"That is not possible...all of my ancestors were kings..." A frown furrows Edie's brow.  
"Shh." The Elf puts a finger to Edie's lips, letting a tear slide down his cheek.  
"I don't want to die, Legolas...but...I suppose I really have no choice...not like you..." she tries to smile as she says this.  
Legolas bows his head respectfully and puts a hand on Edie's cheek.  
"Do not cry for me." Edie says as her eyes begin to close. Her already pale skin is as white as a sheet, and her lips are cracked and dry.  
Legolas watches as the last sighing breath escapes Edie's lips, and after a few minutes he picks up her limp form and holds her to his breast, staring at the ground not quite believing that she is dead, feeling her body still warm against his.  
He remains like this until he hears the sounds of men grow quite close. He knows who it was, and he knows he dislikes them very much.  
Still holding Edie, Legolas stands up and supports her dead weight in his arms as if she is a child. He strides through the trees with ease and stops only when the men come into view.  
  
The repulsive Lord Antinous turned and sneered at him. "What have you got there?" he said, showing as little respect to the Prince of Mirkwood as he did for Melanthius or Eurymachus.  
Legolas said nothing, but instead walked forward and halted directly in front of Lord Antinous's horse.  
"You did this." Legolas said. "You drove her away and now she is dead. She was slain by the assassin you sent, barely an hour ago."  
"I sent no assassin." Lord Antinous said, turning to his men for support.  
"I know you did." Legolas said quietly, "Why else would the man who murdered this innocent child say he was commissioned by one Lord Antinous?"  
"Someone is trying to frame me..." he said simply.  
"My Lord." Melanthius spoke up, his voice shaking slightly. Betraying his master could have him killed. He nodded respectfully to Legolas and continued, "It is true. I saw him do it."  
"Shut up, Boy! You know not of what you speak!" Lord Antinous growled at him, and Melanthius shrunk back.  
"Lord Antinous hired that man to kill the Princess, Sir." Eurymachus said, and then all the soldiers around broke out talking in agreement, confirming Antinous's guilt.  
"Then it is true." Legolas said, and looked up at Lord Antinous with great disdain. "The King shall know, and you shall pay the price for your treachery."  
Lord Antinous uttered a small, scornful laugh. "The King is dead, a messenger came only this morning baring the sad news. The only heir to his kingdom lies cold in your arms. I expect to be named King when I return with the equally sad tidings of the young Princesses death. If you will hand the girl over to me it would make things run so much more smoothly."  
Legolas shook his head. "You would kill an innocent for your greed." He placed Edie's body gently on the ground and took an arrow from his quiver, and before Lord Antinous could react he had shot him through the throat.  
A crimson jet of life-blood gushed from his nostrils and Antinous uttered a small gurgling sound before falling stiffly off his horse and to the hard ground with a small twitch of his leg and a loud thump that echoed through trees in the silence of the forest.  
There was no noise as the men gawped at Legolas as he picked Edie up from the ground and handed her to Eurymachus.  
"Give her a proper burial in this forest. I do not wish to be present, for I fear the grief will be too much for me." Legolas said quietly and turned to leave.  
"Thankyou, Sir." Eurymachus said as he watched Legolas's retreating figure and then set Edie on the ground. "We shall bury the Princess here." he said to the men and they all agreed.  
  
  
Princess Edie was buried in the clearing where they stood as the sun set in the sky. Legolas watched from the trees, not wishing to disturb the ritual. The men made a mound, poured libations, and placed a beautiful flower atop it, a symbol of one who had died too young.  
Lord Antinous was left where he fell, and soon became carrion, but even the beasts in the forest did not touch his rotting flesh.  
Eurymachus became King and was a wise and fair ruler, who was loved by his subjects.  
Legolas traveled Middle Earth, sometimes returning to Edie's grave to sit and remember her. He knew many who had lived and died, and did not dwell too much on the past.  
The Elven Prince had known none only one other human to whom he had given his love.  
  
THE END 


End file.
